So we each think we know what others should do. We are each convinced that if people would listen to us we could straighten people out, iron out the wrinkles in church, government, dining establishments, retail, city services etc. We mostly think our judgments are harmless, but what if they aren’t? What if our “private” judgments about what is wrong with the world and our solutions to fix everyone else’s problems are actually making things worse? What if our judgments are only hardening our own hearts, inflating our own egos and tearing down others intellect, emotional health and God-calling?
I would like to briefly talk the pride and fallacy of appointing ourselves judge and jury of all that is.
First, it would seem that it is the height of hubris to think that we know exactly what we would do if were in someone else’s shoes. The truth of the matter is that no two circumstances are exactly equal. Even if we have been in similar situations and understand the types of emotions, choices and actions that need to be made, we cannot say for sure what we would do if we were in the exact situation that we see another in.
Second, there is no doubt that however we have handled situations in our own lives and no matter how ‘good’ the outcome appeared to be, we can be certain that we did not handle every aspect of our own situation perfectly and there is something that we could learn if we examined our own experiences more closely. We would likely realize our mistakes and see places where we could have done things better or even completely different.
Third, we need to consider the fact that it is not our place to decide when, where, what, how or why other people do things…it is God’s responsibility. Even in the case where we are leading others, at most all we can say is what the end result probably needs to be and what principles should be honored in the process but the rest of it still needs to be determined by the person who ultimately is answerable for their actions.
Fourth, we all know in our own lives the difficulty of knowing if we have done the correct things in the correct ways, with the correct motives and a the correct time. We would be wise to observe others’ decision-making skills in action and ask God for wisdom to discern what we might learn and how we might encourage others in the often overwhelming task of seeking to do all things well.
I will share more on this later. In my next post I will examine more the consequences and the destructive nature of our judgments.
Pastor Michael Johnson 