Today's paragraph has three parts: (Avoiding judgments) Part 1.
We begin Chapter 7 with Christ telling us about judging. He says do not judge, in order that you may not be judged. This is a strange teaching in the society in which we live today. For we judge. We judge by the house a person lives in. We judge by the car a person drives. We judge by the clothes people wear. We judge by how people talk. We judge by how people walk. We judge by how people look. We judge by who people hang out with. We judge by what people eat. We judge by the behavior of people's children. We judge by everything!!! This is the society that we live in. This is the society that we see everyday. This is the society that we are, in our thoughts, in our actions, and in our beings. So how is it that we are not to judge?
Judging is a way of life for most people. To not judge means to change that way of life. To not judge means that our thought processes must change. It means that we can not think the same way that we do naturally. And why is it natural for us to think this way? We are programmed to think the way that we do because we are raised from childhood in this thought process. Its like we are raised like fish in a tank, accustomed to breathing the water that surrounds us, never knowing that we can live outside of the tank. Yet there are fish that breathe on land.
Why do we need to change and not judge? Why is Christ instructing us to not judge? What happens when we judge, what is the process? We form an opinion when we judge. That opinion is then supported by our environment. That opinion forms our behavior. That opinion draws others with the same opinion and their opinions reinforces our opinion. That opinion then creates a lifestyle for us that completes the bowl of our lives and makes us fish in the tank. Finally that opinion corrupts our minds and our hearts which does not allow the truth of Christ to come into our lives. The cycle is now complete and the devil has cut us off from any opportunity that we may have for change. Only a major catastrophe could bring about an interruption that may cause us to question our thought processes.
Christ tells us not to judge because he says that with what judgement you judge, you shall be judged. If I judge that I got my position in life through hard work and my education and that everyone else should follow the same path, then I despise others who come by their position another way. If a person gets promoted above me through, who he or she knows and not, through their qualifications according to the guidelines, then I feel cheated and harbor resentment. I judge this person as not qualified. Then, my judgement of that person becomes my judgement. By opening the door of resentment and anger, I cut off God's judgement of my being qualified for a better position than the one that I thought that I should get. The position that I wanted was not the position that God had planned for me. He had something better in mind. But when I judged another and resented another, my blessing was cut off and I was judged unqualified. Our own judgements then become our judges.
When we make judgements, they are made because we value something, either good or bad. We value people with money as being good. We value people without money as bad. We value nice clothing as good, and those who have them the same. If a person has a new car or an expensive car, we value them as good and those that have junk cars as bad. So Christ is telling us not to judge and therefore we give up the value of earthly things. By not judging we accept what is. By not judging we allow ourselves to see the real that is before us and not the fake. People are real no matter what type of car they drive, clothes they wear, money they have, how they talk, how they walk, etc. And as a result of people being real we open ourselves up to the love that comes from God.
God loves each and every one of us as his children. That same love transforms us into the beings that God wants us to be. We should love our brothers and sisters and neighbors as we love ourselves. We should not judge them as being unworthy of our love. For Christ tells us that what measure we measure it will be measured unto us. If we measure abundantly then God will provide to us abundantly. If we measure stingily then God will also measure to us the same.
Do not judge. Just because you see someone on the side of the road begging for a handout does not mean that they should be look down upon. They are human just as you are and they have the same spirit of Christ in them the same as you do. If others judge you, be accepting of their behavior and do not return the favor. Love them in spite of who they are. Christ has already told us to love our enemies. The greatest of men is the least of men in God's eyes, for he is the ultimate and final judge. He, it is, who judges all.
We begin Chapter 7 with Christ telling us about judging. He says do not judge, in order that you may not be judged. This is a strange teaching in the society in which we live today. For we judge. We judge by the house a person lives in. We judge by the car a person drives. We judge by the clothes people wear. We judge by how people talk. We judge by how people walk. We judge by how people look. We judge by who people hang out with. We judge by what people eat. We judge by the behavior of people's children. We judge by everything!!! This is the society that we live in. This is the society that we see everyday. This is the society that we are, in our thoughts, in our actions, and in our beings. So how is it that we are not to judge?
Judging is a way of life for most people. To not judge means to change that way of life. To not judge means that our thought processes must change. It means that we can not think the same way that we do naturally. And why is it natural for us to think this way? We are programmed to think the way that we do because we are raised from childhood in this thought process. Its like we are raised like fish in a tank, accustomed to breathing the water that surrounds us, never knowing that we can live outside of the tank. Yet there are fish that breathe on land.
Why do we need to change and not judge? Why is Christ instructing us to not judge? What happens when we judge, what is the process? We form an opinion when we judge. That opinion is then supported by our environment. That opinion forms our behavior. That opinion draws others with the same opinion and their opinions reinforces our opinion. That opinion then creates a lifestyle for us that completes the bowl of our lives and makes us fish in the tank. Finally that opinion corrupts our minds and our hearts which does not allow the truth of Christ to come into our lives. The cycle is now complete and the devil has cut us off from any opportunity that we may have for change. Only a major catastrophe could bring about an interruption that may cause us to question our thought processes.
Christ tells us not to judge because he says that with what judgement you judge, you shall be judged. If I judge that I got my position in life through hard work and my education and that everyone else should follow the same path, then I despise others who come by their position another way. If a person gets promoted above me through, who he or she knows and not, through their qualifications according to the guidelines, then I feel cheated and harbor resentment. I judge this person as not qualified. Then, my judgement of that person becomes my judgement. By opening the door of resentment and anger, I cut off God's judgement of my being qualified for a better position than the one that I thought that I should get. The position that I wanted was not the position that God had planned for me. He had something better in mind. But when I judged another and resented another, my blessing was cut off and I was judged unqualified. Our own judgements then become our judges.
When we make judgements, they are made because we value something, either good or bad. We value people with money as being good. We value people without money as bad. We value nice clothing as good, and those who have them the same. If a person has a new car or an expensive car, we value them as good and those that have junk cars as bad. So Christ is telling us not to judge and therefore we give up the value of earthly things. By not judging we accept what is. By not judging we allow ourselves to see the real that is before us and not the fake. People are real no matter what type of car they drive, clothes they wear, money they have, how they talk, how they walk, etc. And as a result of people being real we open ourselves up to the love that comes from God.
God loves each and every one of us as his children. That same love transforms us into the beings that God wants us to be. We should love our brothers and sisters and neighbors as we love ourselves. We should not judge them as being unworthy of our love. For Christ tells us that what measure we measure it will be measured unto us. If we measure abundantly then God will provide to us abundantly. If we measure stingily then God will also measure to us the same.
Do not judge. Just because you see someone on the side of the road begging for a handout does not mean that they should be look down upon. They are human just as you are and they have the same spirit of Christ in them the same as you do. If others judge you, be accepting of their behavior and do not return the favor. Love them in spite of who they are. Christ has already told us to love our enemies. The greatest of men is the least of men in God's eyes, for he is the ultimate and final judge. He, it is, who judges all.
