TODAY’S SCRIPTURE 2 Corinthians 5:10
“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (Jesus in John 7:24).
As a verb the word judge means “to form an opinion or conclusion about.”
You will issue judgments today; we all will. We awake to the morning weather report and judge whether we will wear a jacket or not. We listen to the news and judge our stance on a report. We look in the mirror and judge our own selves––should we go to the gym or enjoy a doughnut? We walk down the sidewalk with our child and see a person who strikes fear in our mind––we are judging. We see the trailer to a new movie and judge if it is one to which we should take our children or even see ourselves.
The inability to judge is leading us to become a culture of the ridiculous. Consider a study done by the Family Policy Institute of Washington where a young white male reporter interviewed students asking for their reaction to him when he said first he was an Asian woman, then a seven-year old, then a six-foot, five-inch person. He was obviously none of those things but the students struggled to say he was lying, incorrect, or even “not” those things. Our desire to be non-judgmental began with letting each person believe as they wish and has led to the ludicrous and ridiculous. So much so that if today one says 2+2=7 to me, some believe “Who am I to judge?”
How utterly foolish and even dangerous! Any clear-thinking person is aware of the obvious necessity of judging. To deny that is to prove your own senselessness, silliness, or stubbornness. You cannot help but judge. Everything we choose is judging between one thing and another. The challenge of Scripture and the challenge to Christians is to judge righteously.
Today I will…be aware that I judge others and try not to judge merely on appearance.
