2024-09-27
Good Morning Dear Ones,
As promised last week, the Holy Spirit guides me to discuss hypocrisy in judging others. MT 7: 3-5, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Last week, snap judgments were brought up, because they can cause so much trouble. And yet, so many of us are guilty of them. We might judge a person by how he dresses, how much money he is thought to have, how many degrees after his name or special titles before it, and so on. The people who have brought the most trouble in my own life are those who are kindly and polite to our faces and want to stab us in the back.
Some reasons not to jump to judgment are: 1) We cause God to judge us more harshly; 2) We ourselves have thoughts and/or do acts for which we judge others; 3) We don’t know the whole truth; 4) We usurp God’s rights; 5) In judging others, we judge God, a form of contempt for God’s patience, because time is more important to God than timing; 6) God’s judgment is always righteous but ours is tainted by the flesh. We are tempted by the evil one to switch positions with God. IS 29: 16, “You turn things upside down, as if the Potter were thought to be like clay! Shall what is formed say to the One Who formed it, ‘You did not make me,’? Can the pot say to the Potter, ‘You know nothing?’” It is no surprise that the Holy Spirit guided Matthew, in MT 7: 1-2, to write: “Do not judge or you too will be judged. For the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
The sin of pride is the foundation of such behavior and attitudes. The story of the handwriting on the wall, which took place in 539 BC at the end of the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews in King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon [DN 5: 1-30], which I hope you will read now. Nebuchadnezzar ordered his subordinates to set a banquet using all the table items stolen from the temple in Jerusalem. It was to be a grand occasion. Suddenly, these words appeared to be written on the wall by the fingers of a human hand as the king watched: “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin.” Here is what the words mean: “Mene” –God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end; “Tekel” -You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; “Parsin”—Your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.” The meaning wasn’t clear to the king, so he called in all his astrologers, magicians, seers, and diviners to interpret it but none could do this. It was only then that he remembered Daniel (one of his palace servants) had the insight, intelligence, and wisdom rendering him capable of such a feat. So, Daniel was brought to the banquet room. Gifts of royal robes and position were offered, but this humble and now aged man refused them. He then gave the king the interpretations above, and that very night, Darius the Mede, took over Babylon at the age of sixty-two!
PRAYER: O Most Holy Lord, Your Spirit directs me to repeat the pleas cited last week for wisdom and discernment. You tell us not to usurp Your right to be acknowledged for Your superior wisdom, which You impart to us when we pray for it from Christ in us. PS 119: 125, “I am Your servant, give me discernment that I may understand Your statutes. JAS 1: 5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, Who gives generously, and it will be given to you.” Had Nebuchadnezzar done these things, the outcome of his rule would have been very different. We do acknowledge that we are the clay, and You are the Potter in our relationship with You. We thank and praise You for giving us Your wisdom and the beauty of Your word, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: In next week’s devotion, the Holy Spirit directs me to begin with writing about David’s views on pride. There is darkness in holding human judgments over the divine. IS 29: 15, “Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, ‘Who sees us? Who will know?’” Living as the weaker partner to God’s greater strength leads us into a deeper understanding of the mystery now revealed, which is Christ in us [COL 1: 26-27; COL 2: 2-3]. It is through the Scriptures and His work as our Kinsman-Redeemer that we can tap into the wisdom that our generous and loving God makes available to us. The gifts of the Holy Spirit lend a kind of inner peace found nowhere else. When we use them and spend daily time under the sheltering wings of God, listening and in prayer, we are blessed beyond imagination. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2024. All Rights Reserved.
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