2009-01-09
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit continues to have a lot to teach us about the judgments we must make, as opposed to the ones that God alone should make. Today, I’m led to write about the basis of the judgments we are making. We must be reminded of MT 7: 2 once again, because it must not be forgotten. “For God will judge you the same way you judge others, and He will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.” These words took Christ so little time to say when giving His Sermon on the Mount, but for us, the ramifications are many. To begin, we know well by our attitude at the time what our motivation is. In making any judgment, we must assess this question: Is the love of God missing from it?
The basic premise of any thoughts, decisions, and actions we take should be JN 13: 34-35, “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have love you, so you should love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are My disciples.” Those words of Christ should be absolutely precious to us. I remember the example of a lady who came to me in tears, because of the awful politics in the office where she worked. When she told me about it, she related that it was like an armed camp in which the battle lines had been drawn. I asked her to relate some examples of behavior that made her feel this way. She told me her boss had shown partiality toward some workers and not toward others. It was common for everyone to be so conscience of their rank that subordinates were never treated with anything but disdain and were given marching orders, if they even so much as questioned what they were told to do. On the other hand, amongst themselves, people of the same rank were cold, not always courteous and reluctant to help each other. If a question for clarification was asked of the higher ranked people, it was treated with impatience and often comments like, “You’re a smart person. Figure it out for yourself!” This is hardly living up to the principle of EPH 4: 15, “Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, Who is the Head.” This lady felt devalued and worn out every day she came home from her workplace.
God’s love is really essential to a healthy emotional and spiritual life. It’s not something only other people have; it’s something everyone should have. Even our worst enemies should be treated with the love we learn from Christ. Tough to do? You bet it is, but if the Gospel of Jesus Christ is ever to be recognized as truth, it must be lived out by believers in contact with a presently lost person. In the wonderful retreat program, Via de Cristo, we often sing a song, “They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love.” People who learn to put loving others at the top of their agenda are people who will be blessed in ways they never expect. Not all bosses are emotionally abusive, but if we can show love in the face of that kind of behavior, we can really surprise people. After this lady left me, she decided on her own to try this. Amazingly, a situation came up where she ended up working on a project with her boss. They were led to eat lunch together because of the time it was taking. The boss mentioned that he noticed that she never had an unkind word to say to him, and asked her how she managed it. She took this opportunity to witness gently, leading him to ask questions and sharing the Gospel in answer to them. Then, she asked him about his years growing up. He had been the middle child of five boys, and their parents created much competitiveness between the boys. He related his father’s impatience, if the boys didn’t immediately do what he told them. Later on another occasion after this lunch, the boss came to her and told her he had done a lot of thinking. He was beginning to realize what a habit his dictatorial behavior had become. He expressed his desire to make things better in the office, and he did. This is a real lesson in how a boss sets the tone for his office. I’m not going to say that perfection and total change came about all of a sudden, but many interoffice communication improvements did come over time.
Judging without love is a symptom of patching together one’s own code of ethics, rather than God’s. In this, there is a lot of pride and arrogance. We must understand PR 16 :18, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Behavior without concern for the emotional wellbeing of another eventually brings failure, which, if carried on, leads to destruction of the person’s spirit. My own spirit was badly damaged before I came to faith in Jesus Christ. I had grown up in a home where reasonable boundaries weren’t respected, and competitiveness had become very unhealthy in its extent and the way it was encouraged. While I never had a problem with alcohol or drugs, it is not difficult to see why children brought up in this kind of emotional dysfunction can turn to such things. Yet I’m sure that what I accomplished in my life is far from the potential God has given me because of all those years of feeling worthless. We must remember that children in a family are gifts from God, whose every aspect must be nurtured in the warmth and light of His teaching. Our behavior toward others and as parents is a measure how seriously we take Christ’s teaching on judgments we must make. None of us want to end up alone and miserable in our old age, because no one else can please us. We can’t live our lives full of only ourselves and find true happiness.
PRAYER: O Lord, You had so much love for us that You gave Your physical life on the cross for our salvation. This act of obedience to the Father blesses us and blessed You. Today, You are at the right side of the Father’s throne with a blissful life for eternity with Him. Eventually, You will take home all those of us who endure in our faith in You [1 THESS 4: 13-17]. But You suffered tremendously before all this happened [LK 22: 42; JN 3: 16]. HE 12: 1-2, “Let us run with determination the race marked out for us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” IS 53: 5, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; And with His stripes we are healed.” Dearest Lord, we know that some of the words of our mouths are not kind. We are impatient and out of touch with what causes us to act rudely and without concern for the spirit of another. As James has put it, in JAS 3: 5-6, “So it is with the tongue; small as it is, it can boast about great things. Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame! And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself.” Good judgment requires careful prior thought. It demands that we think first, then, speak. Sadly, we don’t always do this. Harsh, impatient words can crush the soul of another. Kind ones can help them feel they have a stake in the action in problem-solving [PR 25 :11]. Whether we are in an office or wherever we are, You have created us with the ability to consider the impact of our words on others. We beseech You to give us the right words to say, to help us be patient with those around us, and to use Your wisdom in making judgments in the course of normal human interaction. We thank and praise You for always being there for us and loving us the way You do. You are a compassionate, patient, and loving God. Teach us to show those attributes toward others. In Christ, we pray. Amen.
There is still more that the Holy Spirit gives me to say about dealing with problems in judgment. This will be the subject of next week’s devotion. We’ll look at a problem that Paul had when Jewish and pagan Christians were merged into the early Body of Christ. A relationship that is grounded on love is one that can grow in Christ, be fulfilling to both parties, and protect each person’s spirit with God’s love. 1 JN 4 :12, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.” What a beautiful truth this is! Imagine making God’s love complete. What more joyous thing can we do for the God Who loves us so much that His greatest joy is to bring us back to Him for a blissful eternal fellowship with Him? PS 40: 16, “Let all those who see You rejoice and be glad in You: Let such as love Your salvation say continually, ‘The Lord be magnified!’” Real love is often a two-way relationship based on the Lord’s love demonstrated. God’s love for us is real, not imagined. It is a powerful force that, if we allow it, can shape our whole lives. PS 33: 5, “The Lord loves what is righteous and just. His constant love fills the earth.” IS 64: 4, “No one has ever seen or heard of a God like You, Who does such deeds for those who put their hope in Him.” My work on the prayer chain gives me a close view of God at work, healing, rebuilding, restoring, strengthening, and comforting those who turn to Him. There are times when He calls a person home to Him, and nothing He ever does is does without love. How blessed we all are that He is our God and always will be! Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn