After Pondering Matthew 7....

I want to take a few moments and talk about a passage in scripture that has been burning on my heart for a few years. This verse is probably the most commonly quoted portion of scripture in Christianity today and we are all familiar with it, but two years ago the Lord highlighted it to me in a whole new context. I have been hiding it in my heart, trying to grasp the complexity of the Lord’s heart relating the comparison and judgment of others ever since. I am by no means sharing this from a place of complete freedom wrongful judging. I realize this is going to be a reality that the Lord will be working in me for the rest of my life, but, I am committed to the process. At this point, I feel like I have barely scratched the surface but this is something that I believe is an important issue to be grasped in order for us to fully partner with each other in ministry. I know that the spirit of comparison and judgment is something that we all give ourselves to in varying forms and I want to share with you, what the Lord has been speaking to me about it.

If you have your bibles, open them to Matthew chapter 7.
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew 7:1-6

Instead of looking at this passage with the traditional view, I want us to consider it from a different angle. As I was meditating on this passage the Lord told me, “You don’t realize this but when you judge other people constantly in your mind, you are only hurting yourself. Every time you criticize another person in your heart, you are creating an unrealistic set of standards that you hold yourself to. Ultimately, your inability to meet up to your own standards causes you to grow angry and frustrated at Me, your striving to be perfect according to those standards in your own strength excludes Me from your transformation. And when you judge others, you are judging Me, you are doubting my sovereignty in their lives.” This reality struck me hard. Me, judging the Lord?!?! Ouch. I began my journey of grappling this reality.
Whenever the Lord highlights sin in my life, my automatic reaction is to rationalize my behavior by pointing out the same sin in the lives of others. I frantically search for the specks in other peoples eyes in order to defend my own cause and the log in own my eye never gets addressed or it gets suppressed. When Holy Spirit brings conviction, it doesn’t give us a free ticket to acknowledge that sin in the lives of others. The Lord has all of us on a path to wholeness and freedom and it is going to look different for all of us, the level of maturity He is calling you to may not be where someone else is at.
The repercussions of this in my life lies in the unrealistic standards I create for myself when I unrighteously judge others. I went through a season recently where I couldn’t go to the Lord freely because I had so much shame built up from not being able to meet up to my own expectations of myself. By requiring much from others, I had created an illusion that the Lord expected much more from me, a standard that I could never measure up to in my own strength. This caused me to spiral into aggressive striving and despair. I was too ashamed to go to the Lord in such weakness because I expected His view of me to be much like the view I had of others who struggle with the same issues. Eventually, I grew frustrated with the Lord because I felt like He was distant and had abandoned me. When in reality, it was my own shame and condemnation that created the distance. I doubted His goodness and estranged myself from His mercy and grace, which was already freely mine. I had judged others in defense of my dignity and ended up forfeiting my dignity myself in not allowing the Lord to transform me in my weak state. I doubted the Lord’s sovereignty in the lives of others and lost faith in His sovereignty in my own life.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Instead of standing on the truth found in the word that the Lord’s strength is made perfect in weakness, I judged people according to their own flesh and ability in place of seeing the Lord’s grace in renewing their lives. By holding myself to this same standard, I wallowed in my weak state for too long of a season because, in my own pride I didn’t allow the Lord to make me strong. This is the reality that I have been wrestling with ever since the Lord highlighted that unrighteous spirit of judgment in me.

Does this mean that Jesus doesn’t judge? On the contrary, in John 5:30, Jesus judges others,
"I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”
It’s not about completely ridding our lives of all forms of judgment, the Lord wants us to weigh each other with the right heart. The difference between my heart of judgment and the judgment of Jesus is huge, I judge out of a place of seeking my own gain, defending my own reputation. Quite contrarily, Jesus judges based on the will of the Father, His judgments are righteous and pure.

The Lord’s model for judging others is good, He intends for us to challenge people to grow in their knowledge of Him. With the right heart, He uses judgment for His purpose, it is what we choose to do with it that matters. We can either sow truth into the lives of our friends or we can sow darkness and offense into our relationships and into our own hearts. Righteous judgment always has the other person’s best interest in mind. Proverbs 27:17 says that, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of a friend.” When the Lord highlights issues in the lives of our friends, we are not to use those things to breed negative thoughts or to make us feel better about ourselves by rationalizing our sinful behavior. The Lord highlights them so that we can pray for one another and if need be, confront our friend in love, sharpening their countenance and calling them into greater knowledge of the Lord. That is what righteous judgment is, addressing truth in love.

My heart is heavy as I share this because I know this is an area of my life where I fall short often and it is something that doesn’t only affect my life and my relationship with the Lord, in even greater measures it affects my relationship with my friends. I want to repent for every time I have taken the seat of the unrighteous judge. Ultimately, my carrying a judgmental spirit prevents unity in our hearts and hinders the spiritual growth of our relationship. My judgment of you amidst your transformation caused my heart to mistrust the Lord’s work in you and through you, preventing me from fully partnering with your heart in ministering to others. As your sister, I want to be one who calls you up higher, challenging you to grow, but I also want to come to you with a pure heart, motivated by the will of the Father.

I want to serve you, to get underneath you, strengthening you for the Lord’s work instead of agreeing with the father of lies about hidden motives or disqualification. In chapter 7:6 of Matthew, Jesus says, “ Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lets they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you into pieces.” By allowing negative, judgmental thoughts toward you to take root in my mind, I have submitted your heart to the dogs, I have casted your actions before swine. In allowing my flesh to judge your heart, I have subjected your ministry to be measured by the standards of this world instead of the Lord’s. In this, I have come into agreement with the enemy, giving way for your honor and dignity to be trampled by the slander of the enemy. Every time I have allowed myself to judge your actions and intentions unrighteously, I forfeited an opportunity to partner with you in advancing the kingdom and I sowed strife and disunity into our relationship instead of trusting the Lord to use you in your weakness.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, we see a picture of what love is supposed to look like,
“ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

I want to be a picture of Christ’s love to you, I don’t want to seek my own advancement, I want to always give you the benefit of the doubt, I want to be patient with you, rejoicing when you rejoice, I want to hope with you for your future, I want to stand with you in faith and in prayer for your dreams to be fulfilled. I want to love you well, with full and complete selflessness, seeking your cause. I want to go low so you can go high. I want to make a new commitment to you, that I will promote you and not myself, that I will seek your blessing and not my own, that I will judge your heart as good and pure instead of seeking to discount your intentions or tear you down in order to defend my own honor. I want to commit to you tonight that I will leave Christ in the judgment seat and trust His agenda in transforming your life. Can you pray with me? Lets break our agreement with the spirit of comparison and unrighteous judgment. Can we contend together for the Lord to establish a culture of honor in our relationships and in the body of Christ?