Have you ever woken up full of joy and happy in the Lord, having peace and a peace of mind, for it all to come to a crashing halt by those who are still of the world, meaning per se, those sinners such as gossipers, those that lie compulsively, pass judgment, steal, complain, or are inconsiderate of other’s and their feelings?
We must be mindful of who we entertain. I wrote a previous article titled, “How You Start Your Day Matters,” because it does. When we, as Christians, start our day spent with Jesus by reading the Bible, praying, meditating on our favorite scripture, or fasting, the last thing we want is to be robbed of our peace, our peace of mind, and of our joy and comfort in the Lord. Neighbors, family, or friends will come to your home excitedly and ready to pass judgment, gossip, or both about others. You on the other hand, are a new creature in Christ and no longer appreciate this kind of talk. You now believe in praying for others, helping others, and not belittling them in hopes of condemning yourself, too. These folks have started testing your patience and kindness, and your positive energy, your Spiritual wellness in the Lord, is at risk of being drained and possibly becoming negative, especially if you aren’t strong enough to handle the situation or control the environment. Want to know what I mean by (if you aren’t strong enough) in the Lord to handle the situation or control the environment? I mean that, when you decide to open your door to allow company inside your home, be mindful of these folks because they come in (unbeknownst to them) with certain bad spirits attached to them that they will leave, unintentionally, at your home once they depart, but while there, these spirits are using these folks and if you are not strong in Jesus you could start taking on the same role as them, such as cursing, drinking, gossiping, passing judgment, anything sinful that you have already been redeemed from. In other words, you have just allowed these “IT” factors (as my pastor Dr. Bobby Lamb calls them), on the inside of you as well. Now you are acting outside of your Godly character, no longer representing that Christian you started out being when you woke in the morning but a whole different version of yourself now.
In the NIV Bible, Luke 6:37 tells us, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Before I fully grew in Christ Jesus, this was me. I had to learn the hard way what gossiping and passing judgment upon others caused. For one, when the Word tells us that we are condemning our own selves by condemning others, it’s letting us know that whatever we’re constantly passing judgment on that person about, rather it’s of them being lazy, not being able to keep a job, not having a car, can’t take care of their kids, are an alcoholic or drug addict, are a thief or a prostitute, we have to remember that Romans 2:1 says, “You, therefore, have no excuse, ‘You who pass judgment on someone else, for whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment’ do the same things.” Don’t you know that you should not cast stones, you vipers, who are not without their own sins. Jesus did in fact say so. This very last verse in Romans is the key takeaway point for me ( because you who pass judgment do the same things), therefore, if many of you don’t pass judgment, good for you, but if you do pass judgment, especially as a Christian, unless it is a righteous truth, a righteous judgment, then it won’t be long that God will ensure either you or your loved one’s end up in the same predicament as the person you’re condemning. Prayer is the right thing to do for others. Romans 14:10-13 states, “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “As surely as I live, ‘says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.” So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”
As the Pharisees did the tax-collectors and sinners, pre-judging and condemning them, we should strive to do the opposite, which is love our enemies and show them mercy. “To [condemn] means to find or pronounce someone guilty, with an assumption of punishment.” “To [judge] involves expressing some conclusion or opinion about something, especially regarding another person.” For errant human beings, knowing how, when, and if to judge is a constant struggle. In most passages Jesus talks about how God will bless those who suffer because of persecution and that He will judge those who avoid suffering by fitting in with the corrupt world (Luke 6:20-26). Love those who persecute you, emulating your Father in Heaven, who shows mercy to everyone, even the evil. To preserve your peace and peace of mind, you must separate yourself from wickedness, even if that wickedness comes in the shape and form of your mom, dad, brother, sister, neighbor, cousin, friend, child/children, or coworker. You are a new creature in Christ, I’m not telling you here to stop loving them because you should always love, and unconditionally, you are just no longer a slave to sin, you have been given salvation, set free. So how you move, how you think, how you speak, how you choose and what you choose to entertain, should be different, and for the better. This is what folks should see. Not the old you but the new you. Persecuting other people can hurt, and you should know because you yourselves once were, or might still be being persecuted, it is like a repeated cycle, but how you handle and deal with it depends on you. Forgive those who treat you thusly as I am sure you would want to be forgiven. It matters. Have good hearts and lives that are founded on and in Jesus. Until next time fol
