Love Has a Name

Want to get a rise out of someone? Tell them that what they are doing is wrong. Tell someone you believe what they do is incorrect, evil or not good and they will surely say “don’t judge me!”

Oh judgement. How we have lost our way in this world. Everyone is the judge of their own land and no-one knows the law of each person’s land.

We are so quick to judge. Yes there are Scriptures on this seemingly very daunting word, and I want to clarify quickly before I continue.

Matthew 7:2 tells us to not judge unless we want to be judged. This text is nearly always taken out of context and not even in its entirety. As we read the full Scripture we learn that we will be judged by the same standards by which we judge others.

Biblical scholars and those who study the Word of God will say that this Scripture is meant to warn us when speaking to all people, however, it really is directing us to not judge others’ inward thoughts or intentions. We are unable to know for certain people’s intentions or thoughts. The Father on the other hand does know.

It does not say “don’t” it warns us to judge by the same standards we want to be judged by. My advice? Don’t judge intentions or thoughts, give grace and mercy as the Father has given you grace and mercy. Leave the judging of intentions to the only One who knows the intentions.

John 7:24 (John 7:24) plainly tells us to judge with “right judgement.”

So what’s the deal? It’s simple. We cannot apply a double standard. We will be judged by the standards we judge others by and we must judge people’s actions. The trouble we get ourselves into is by passing judgement quickly and without curiosity. We see something we feel is wrong and jump to condemn before asking why.

We must be wise in judgement and lead with love and grace. Judging unbelievers and judging Christians is much different, in fact, we are called, and some say indeed commanded, to judge our fellow Christians (this is rarely spoken about within the church community).

Before I go too far off topic, I want to relate this judgement to the eternal life that Jesus provides those who abide in Him.

Imagine for a moment you are sitting as the judge and 2 people come up in front of you for judgement. You are the decider, the end all and be all, the judge to decide someone’s fate for eternity. Get it wrong and you cannot reverse it. There are no appeals and your decision is final, forever.

SCENARIO 1:

Man #1 is presented to you accused of stealing food and clothing for several months. His actions put 1 store out of business and bankrupted the owners.

Man #2 is presented to you appearing clean, orderly and well respected. He attended church on Sunday’s and gave 10% of his income to support the feeding of the homeless shelter.

You are God. What is your judgement? I can probably guess nearly everyone will judge Man #1 as guilty and Man #2 as innocent. At the very least I hope some would have asked, “why?” or “what do I not know?”

Here’s the knowledge of what you do not know. Information that you will not be privy to about each man before judgement because you are not God.

SCENARIO 2:

Man #1 was faithful to his wife for 20 years. They had a child and the mother could not handle her postpartum depression. Turning to prescription drugs she quickly became addicted to opiods. The man was earning 6 figures a year and supported the entire family. He worked hard every day of his life and still found time to bring his son to his soccer games while supporting his wife in her addictions treatment. One day she cracked. The addiction broke her. She withdrew all their money, stole the car and spread vicious rumours about the man to his friends and coworkers attempting to extort him for money. She disappeared. Unable to make ends meet one month he stole 10$ worth of food and got away with it. He continued to steal while eventually becoming homeless. His son knew nothing about this until they moved into a motel where the Police eventually caught up to him after forcing a business to close due to his theft of valuable items over a long period of time. The man had no choice. Steal or die.

Man #2 was faithful to his faith community and well-liked. He volunteered and part of his income was used to help feed the hungry. However, the man earned 6 million dollars a year. He owned 2 homes and 3 cars. He was single and had no dependents. The money he donated was actually given so that he could receive a tax receipt at the end of the year and minimize the amount of taxes he paid. He would binge drink and party on the weekends and often used women as a means of escaping his boredom and day-to-day mundane life. The money he spent on cars and houses was because he didn’t know what else to do with it. He had too much. The man would travel to foreign countries twice a year in order to show off his money and wealth and boast about himself to those in 3rd world countries. He wanted to feel loved.

Now what do you say?

What if I then told you that Man #1 was actually given millions of dollars as a child as an inheritance and he used to spend the money in a fashion similar to the second man. He got a good job but instead of saving the money he was reckless and his wife was actually met through drug use. He kicked the habit to support the family at work, she could never fully be clean.

What if I also said that Man #2 was abused as a child and his lifestyle is used to protect himself from the pain and suffering of years of childhood abuse. His trauma was left untouched and unknown by him for decades. He was just trying to get the nightmares to stop.

Now what?

This seems like a stretch, however, I know people who fit in both categories. Men, women, believers and unbelievers. Before I was saved by Jesus, I personally had characteristics that could fit in both of the men’s lives.

So what is your judgement? Seems impossible doesn’t it? How can we judge someone guilty without knowing their heart. Without knowing their thoughts. Without knowing the why.

Our Father in heaven, Jesus Christ the Saviour and the Holy Spirit, work full-time all the time to heal and redeem broken people.

When we take God’s place in the seat of judgement we get it wrong. We simply cannot know what God knows about each person. What we do know is that Love is patient and Love is kind.

Love is Jesus.

In the culture of today we are quick to judge without asking why. Without having a conversation in order to hear someone else’s opinion or point of view. We feel like we have all the facts because we saw a twitter feed or a Facebook post. Someone posts a 30 second clip on Youtube and hundreds of thousands of people make a snap judgement about a person or situation without seeking the full 30 minute video of the event.

I know full well I cannot judge people based on their inward thoughts or actions. I spent years as a Police Officer and can attest to the fact that there is more to the story than you ever know or even imagine.

If collectively our culture took a posture of understanding, conversation and leaving the judging to the only true and all-knowing Judge of all mankind, the world would be a much better place. We could exist without war, without violence and without much conflict.

Regardless of the scenario, even if you do have a conversation with someone, you will never have all the facts. You cannot see the puzzle of someone’s life unless you created the box in which it came.

Leave it to Jesus. Be patient. Be loving. Be kind.