There is a difference between judging and condemnation.
Stop telling folks that they can't judge you. It is not
scriptural.
John 7:24 Judge not according to the
appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Matthew
7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be
judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in
thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me
pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out
of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of
thy brother's eye.
What
the scripture is telling us is that when you judge another, KNOW that you will
be judged with the same measure you dish it out.
God’s
Word tells us to know those that labor among us.
When
you go to a store, a grocery store, a furniture store, any store; do you just
pick up whatever you came to get, or do you check it out? Comparing prices, quality, even quantity available. Does it measure up to a
specific standard that you are looking for?
The
same applies in the Kingdom of God, what are you working toward. What is your
focus? What are you looking for?
The
same goes for who you hang around with, socialize with, etc. My Mom used to tell
me that birds of a feather flock together. I usually got mad at her because I
didn’t consider myself “like them” just because I was out with them. Yet, as
long as I kept hanging out with them I ended up doing just what they did. I
smoked pot because they did. I did not get a “buzz” I got hungry, then got
sick. It did not appeal to me at all.
So
don’t get upset when you are “judged” by who you surround yourself with. There
are Godly friends/people that God will place in your life. Be like them, learn
from them. Birds of a feather….flock together. If you want to be judged
righteous, be righteous in God’s sight. Your own way will get you into a heap
of trouble.
Understand
that no matter how you try to hide. Someone is always watching, always judging
you. How are you presenting to them? What is your life showing/proving to them?
Are you a standard that others will want to follow? Is Christ evident in your
life?
Somebody
is watching, it may be your peers or your children or perhaps your sibling's
children, or it could be your neighbor…. Keep focused on God not on who is
watching or what they are thinking.
As I
was growing up, I was always thinking the worst. Assuming the other person
thought terrible thoughts of me. They don’t like me, on and on it went. I was
condemning myself. Eventually, I found out that they thought no such thing
about me. They did like me; I was just so anti-social that they did not know
how to talk to me. I was so stuck in my own thoughts that I was unapproachable
to others. If anyone spoke to me, I would duck my head, turn a bright red, and
even tears in my eyes wanting to crawl in a hole and hide. All because of what
I thought that they thought of me.
Now I
must say abuse played a major role in that aspect of my life. That is another
story all together. My point is that often we cause a rift between oneself and
others by our own stinking thinking.
Don’t
be afraid to be judged, just know that God will correct you, help you correct
yourself too if necessary. Let others see how merciful God is when we humble
ourselves to His will and way. Let them see the changes God makes in your life
when we will let Him.
Now,
don’t get in a hurry to make them/others know you… let God show them the real
you. Um-hmmm. Just be yourself with God as your guide.
When
God is truly in your heart, in spite of faults and failures, He will shine
through! Don't
condemn, that is God's job one day. Just judge righteously, picking the
"fruit" that you want, so therefore you will be judged righteously.
