Court of Law?

One thing that I have found common in we human beings is our penchant to judge others whenever they "fall short" of our expectations and this is not peculiar to any group, age or race, we all are guilty of playing the “judge”. I however find it disturbing that we Christians tend to do more of the judging when our Lord and Savior clearly said “Do not judge, or you too will be judged". Matthew 7: 1. Is it that we keep forgetting this? Why do we decide to turn the church into a court of law?

The funny thing is, not only do we judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions; we also choose to see the wrong in others while we remain conveniently blind to our otherwise glaring faults. In my Christian walk, I have had the opportunity to associate with all sorts of “Christians” and I must say some of those relationships were not as pleasant as I expected them to be. Just like the Pharisees in the Bible, we are hypocritical in nature, condemning others for things that we approve in ourselves.

According to my Bible, the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves Matthew 22: 39, and 1 Peter 4: 8B also says that “love covers over a multitude of sins” so why do we choose to emphasize the sins of our fellow brethren? Why don’t we practice what Paul advised in Galatians 6: 1A when he said “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.”

I know I am also guilty of this, but with each passing day, I have decided to consciously be less judgmental of others. I pray that God helps you and I not to judge others for “everyone of us who judges has no excuse. For in passing judgment on another we condemn ourselves, because we, the judges, practice the very same things. Romans 2: 1. Let us therefore be mindful of what we say about others because Jesus said “I tell you, on the Day of Judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12: 36 – 37. Like Joel Osteen said, lets “allow God be the judge of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell” for “who are you to judge your neighbor”? James 4: 12B