My family and I (as a pastor's family) have certainly received judgment from others. When you live in a fish bowl it is easy for that to happen.
Recently Rick Perry has been in the line of fire for forgetting a few things. Haven't we all been there? Ashton Kutcher expressed an opinion of something before getting the whole story. Haven't we been there? Paula Abdul breaks down on TV because she cares about people. Haven't we been moved emotionally over someone or something we care about?
Our journeys are difficult enough to travel through and even much more difficult when we feel we have to trudge through them in fear. It doesn't just happen to those who live in fish bowls - it happens to students trying to make it through a day without being teased. It happens when co-workers secretly sneak in the corner and gossip about another. It happens when Christians gather in the hallways or at homes to discuss what they don't like about their pastor. It happens when children over hear their parents talking about other people at the dinner table.
A while back God really tested me. Believe me! I'm no saint - I too have been found guilty of judging others. One Sunday morning, at our previous church, I was running from one end of the building to the other trying to get things ready. I happened to run past two women standing in the center of the aisle talking (rather loudly) about their dislike of the pastor. Of course I rushed by intending to move forward with my tasks and ignore it - but the Lord stopped me in my tracks and said, "Go back Tina." I had to take in a deep breath, pull myself together, and question, "You want me to what?"
Well - I did go back, stepped between them, and calmly and gently whispered, "Ladies, this is one of the things we are trying to stop from happening in our church - so if you could please wait until after the service that would be great." (as if that would make it even more righteous) Embarrassed - they took off in separate ways. My intention wasn't to embarrass them but to simply put a stop to the gossip in the church. A few days later I was reprimanded by one of them for doing what I did.
A week later - I found myself sauntering through the clearance aisle at a nearby Wal-Mart. Two Wal-Mart workers huddled in the aisle and started gossiping about another co-worker. I tried to ignore it so I moved to another aisle. They followed! "Not again Lord!," I said to myself. I heard the Lord say, "Will you this time?" Was this a test? How can this happen again so quickly? I wanted to cover my ears and run away.
I again took a deep breath, walked over to the women, and gently whispered, "Ladies - people can hear you when you gossip about another co-worker and I'm sure Wal-Mart doesn't appreciate you doing that."
Of course they received what I shared much better than the women who I spoke with in church. "Oh we're so sorry about that - you're right - thank you."
You see we have all found ourselves in that situation - whether the instigator or the listener we somehow end up partaking of such things. I had to remind myself this morning of what the Bible says about "judging" because I found myself judging the media for their actions. This is what I found:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “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? 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? 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." Mathew 7: 1-5
So today, and one day at a time, I will try to leave the judging up to the Lord. He's much better at it than I am.
May
Your Journey Be Filled with Doing the Right Things!
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