Would you be angry if Jeffery Dahmer was in heaven? I just want you to think about what that means to you? Do you get to decide where he goes by judging him in a courtroom? By proving this man was guilty, and he was, does that mean that upon his death he will enter eternity in hell? Or would you pray that God would send him to hell? Would you be angry if you were told, Jeffery Dahmer was in heaven?
We spend a lot of time on social media telling people that we don't want to be judged. But we all judge something. Don't we? We would never put our sins in the same ball park as Jeffery Dahmer, but what makes your sin different from his? If you say that your sin is not as terrible...then are you judging? How does one keep themselves from judging others, when it is such an important topic on our Social Media pages?
When you watch how a Christian behaves and they do something you don't like, are you judging them whether you say it or not? When you want them to stop pointing out your sins because it makes you feel uneasy, is that wrong? We are told to be genuine in our evaluations of ourselves, that we should not be fake, but real. When you see something that angers you, is it ok to be angry? I think we should go ahead and point out sin as long as we know what the Bible says about the matter first. But instead we stuff it, because we don't want to appear to others as "hateful christians". We are in constant censorship, deciding what conversations to get in and what not to, because we fear it might challenge your relationship with Christ, the church, or your image of ourselves. But the Bible does say to hate what is evil. If you hate evil...is that judgmental? Is sin evil? Is it ok to hate what Jeffrey Dahmer did. Because I do.
I took a look at my boys the other day. Each of them are completely different from the other. The only thing that is the same is their relationship with Jesus and they have the same Mother and Father. Other than that...they are complete opposites. One loves computers, and strategic programming, loves music and comedy and is very passive in nature. The other one loves sports, hunting, fishing, working on the farm outside, and is very emotionally charged. If you would ask them which one of themselves is better than the other, they would each say themselves. I'm pretty sure of it. They were both raised to be confident in who they are and in their own abilities. If, on the other hand, you asked their Dad or I which one of them was better, there is no way we could answer. Absolutely not. They are both perfect to us in their own ways and in their own abilities. Even if one of them did something wrong, it wouldn't change which one is better, love is love, there is no competition in that.
I think of the disciples fighting like my kids would about "who is greater in heaven". We all have this thing about needing to feel like we are important because of the job we hold, the work we do, the volunteering we give, the money we provide. Is the little old lady in the nursing home that can no longer walk, talk, or eat by herself, any less then a Pastor like Bill Johnson? Or if you answered, would you be judging?
We do judge, that is why we don't want to be judged. Because we go by the standards that we set in our own perimeters of what is good and bad. We base those decisions on the things people have done, either to us or to others. We choose our friendships carefully and we never say anything that might set a fire. As long as we don't say what we are really thinking, perhaps no one else can judge us.
So I ask you again, if you were to be standing next to Jeffrey Dahmer and I asked God to tell us which he loved more. You or him. What do you suppose HIS answer might be? I have no idea where this man has ended up in eternity. In my own head, I've decided where I believe he is, but then that would be me judging him and not God, and I don't want God's job. But as a Christian, I would have very boldly pointed out his "SIN". Would that have been wrong if I offended him or hurt his feelings? I don't want anyone thinking that I would condom such evil behavior. I would never tolerate such things, nor tell anyone that it was ok. What he did to those babies was sinful and wrong, and as a Christian I am not going to sit back and say it was ok. It wasn't. So is it OK to point out and judge the sin?
God has told us, not to compare ourselves to others. It's taken me a very long time to understand that, mostly because of things that were bedded deep in my own head. If I have to get in front of the board, or be called in the office of my boss, if I have to talk to "important" people I shake like a leaf on a windy day. My insides turn and I want to throw up. Why? Because in my mind, they are better than me. I have nothing of status of any sort, not a famous name, not money, not any sort of important job, in my head I'm a nobody. I am an encourager, but a Servant, or a Pastor seems a whole lot more needed and effective than just someone that shares words, except when those words are God's words...did you know they will never go out void? My husband on the other hand, has no issues talking to anyone, regardless of their financial or leadership status. He doesn't feel less then them, no matter what position they hold. It's amazing to see, he is confident in who he was created to be, and doesn't see himself as less.
God has asked us to have a one on one relationship with him. He gives us the Bible for instruction. We can trust it, even when we can't trust others. The God that created you does not see you by your job, your works, or your talent. He sees you as a little child. He sees your trust in Him. Whoever comes to him will never be turned away. Some people do not tolerate children very well. I think it's sad to see. They think they are burdensome and in the way. They don't want them interfering with 'adult' stuff. Children don't worry about the work that needs to be done, or what kind of impact they are having on the world, they are just playing and loving. They forgive easy, they depend on their mommies and daddies. They don't pick and choose friends based on color, religion or sexual orientation. We don't think about that until we start making boundaries, setting up perimeters, becoming adults start judging and becoming "tempted with sin". Little children are not afraid of making new friends, or how much money their family makes.
God does not choose favorites and neither do little children. Only adults do. But here is the key. NOT EVERY ROAD LEADS TO HEAVEN. The Bible is clear on that. So next time you feel that someone is judging you, especially someone that loves Jesus and reads his words, instead of getting angry right away, stop and see what Jesus says about the thing you are being judged for. Satan is tricky and sin presents itself as subtle. We fight for sin sometimes, because our flesh tells us it's ok to feed it, but the Holy Spirit tells our spirit it is not ok. We all struggle with some sort of sin, all of us. It is what makes the world go round. We are all fighting some sort of battle. So next time, instead of waging war against each other, how about we lock arms and wage war against sin instead.
We spend a lot of time on social media telling people that we don't want to be judged. But we all judge something. Don't we? We would never put our sins in the same ball park as Jeffery Dahmer, but what makes your sin different from his? If you say that your sin is not as terrible...then are you judging? How does one keep themselves from judging others, when it is such an important topic on our Social Media pages?
When you watch how a Christian behaves and they do something you don't like, are you judging them whether you say it or not? When you want them to stop pointing out your sins because it makes you feel uneasy, is that wrong? We are told to be genuine in our evaluations of ourselves, that we should not be fake, but real. When you see something that angers you, is it ok to be angry? I think we should go ahead and point out sin as long as we know what the Bible says about the matter first. But instead we stuff it, because we don't want to appear to others as "hateful christians". We are in constant censorship, deciding what conversations to get in and what not to, because we fear it might challenge your relationship with Christ, the church, or your image of ourselves. But the Bible does say to hate what is evil. If you hate evil...is that judgmental? Is sin evil? Is it ok to hate what Jeffrey Dahmer did. Because I do.
I took a look at my boys the other day. Each of them are completely different from the other. The only thing that is the same is their relationship with Jesus and they have the same Mother and Father. Other than that...they are complete opposites. One loves computers, and strategic programming, loves music and comedy and is very passive in nature. The other one loves sports, hunting, fishing, working on the farm outside, and is very emotionally charged. If you would ask them which one of themselves is better than the other, they would each say themselves. I'm pretty sure of it. They were both raised to be confident in who they are and in their own abilities. If, on the other hand, you asked their Dad or I which one of them was better, there is no way we could answer. Absolutely not. They are both perfect to us in their own ways and in their own abilities. Even if one of them did something wrong, it wouldn't change which one is better, love is love, there is no competition in that.
I think of the disciples fighting like my kids would about "who is greater in heaven". We all have this thing about needing to feel like we are important because of the job we hold, the work we do, the volunteering we give, the money we provide. Is the little old lady in the nursing home that can no longer walk, talk, or eat by herself, any less then a Pastor like Bill Johnson? Or if you answered, would you be judging?
We do judge, that is why we don't want to be judged. Because we go by the standards that we set in our own perimeters of what is good and bad. We base those decisions on the things people have done, either to us or to others. We choose our friendships carefully and we never say anything that might set a fire. As long as we don't say what we are really thinking, perhaps no one else can judge us.
So I ask you again, if you were to be standing next to Jeffrey Dahmer and I asked God to tell us which he loved more. You or him. What do you suppose HIS answer might be? I have no idea where this man has ended up in eternity. In my own head, I've decided where I believe he is, but then that would be me judging him and not God, and I don't want God's job. But as a Christian, I would have very boldly pointed out his "SIN". Would that have been wrong if I offended him or hurt his feelings? I don't want anyone thinking that I would condom such evil behavior. I would never tolerate such things, nor tell anyone that it was ok. What he did to those babies was sinful and wrong, and as a Christian I am not going to sit back and say it was ok. It wasn't. So is it OK to point out and judge the sin?
God has told us, not to compare ourselves to others. It's taken me a very long time to understand that, mostly because of things that were bedded deep in my own head. If I have to get in front of the board, or be called in the office of my boss, if I have to talk to "important" people I shake like a leaf on a windy day. My insides turn and I want to throw up. Why? Because in my mind, they are better than me. I have nothing of status of any sort, not a famous name, not money, not any sort of important job, in my head I'm a nobody. I am an encourager, but a Servant, or a Pastor seems a whole lot more needed and effective than just someone that shares words, except when those words are God's words...did you know they will never go out void? My husband on the other hand, has no issues talking to anyone, regardless of their financial or leadership status. He doesn't feel less then them, no matter what position they hold. It's amazing to see, he is confident in who he was created to be, and doesn't see himself as less.
God has asked us to have a one on one relationship with him. He gives us the Bible for instruction. We can trust it, even when we can't trust others. The God that created you does not see you by your job, your works, or your talent. He sees you as a little child. He sees your trust in Him. Whoever comes to him will never be turned away. Some people do not tolerate children very well. I think it's sad to see. They think they are burdensome and in the way. They don't want them interfering with 'adult' stuff. Children don't worry about the work that needs to be done, or what kind of impact they are having on the world, they are just playing and loving. They forgive easy, they depend on their mommies and daddies. They don't pick and choose friends based on color, religion or sexual orientation. We don't think about that until we start making boundaries, setting up perimeters, becoming adults start judging and becoming "tempted with sin". Little children are not afraid of making new friends, or how much money their family makes.
God does not choose favorites and neither do little children. Only adults do. But here is the key. NOT EVERY ROAD LEADS TO HEAVEN. The Bible is clear on that. So next time you feel that someone is judging you, especially someone that loves Jesus and reads his words, instead of getting angry right away, stop and see what Jesus says about the thing you are being judged for. Satan is tricky and sin presents itself as subtle. We fight for sin sometimes, because our flesh tells us it's ok to feed it, but the Holy Spirit tells our spirit it is not ok. We all struggle with some sort of sin, all of us. It is what makes the world go round. We are all fighting some sort of battle. So next time, instead of waging war against each other, how about we lock arms and wage war against sin instead.
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