Reflections from April 13, 2010

Today we finish the Sermon on the Mount and read in Matthew 7:1-2, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

What was it that Jesus was calling His followers to do here? Did He want us to close our eyes to error and evil? Did he intend that managers forgo critical performance reviews of their employees? Or that news editors and art critics pull their punches? Or that juries refrain from judgement? Should we decline any assessment of others, since none of us is perfect?
No, those would all be misapplications of Jesus' teaching. In the first place, He was not commanding blind acceptance, but grace toward others. Since all of us are sinners, we need to stop bothering with the failings of others and start attending to serious issues of our own. His words here extend His earlier expose' of hypocrisy. Don't blame or put down others while excusing or exalting yourself, Jesus was saying.
Is there room, then, to assess others, especially when we know we are not perfect? Yes, but only in Jesus' way: with empathy and fairness and with a readiness to freely and fully forgive. When we are called upon to correct others, we should act like a good doctor whose purpose is to bring healing--not like an enemy who attacks.

Proverbs 13:3 states, "He who guards his mouth preserves his life; But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction."

This brings to mind the notable quotable of Abraham Lincoln, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." It so often in life is our mouth and words that bring us trouble and grief. Words matter. The spoken word can never be taken back so when you open your mouth and speak out those words of hate, evil, etc., they have an irreversible impact on people that hear them. The sad part is that sometimes we say them out of jest. That can hurt more, but rarely does it ease the pain of the recipient.

Guard what you say, and think before you say it. That way, peace is preserved and relationships aren't destroyed.

Blessings to all