Judge, Lest You be Judged

Reading 1 Rom 2:1-11

You, O man, are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment.
For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself,
since you, the judge, do the very same things.
We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true.
Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things
and yet do them yourself,
that you will escape the judgment of God?
Or do you hold his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience
in low esteem, unaware that the kindness of God
would lead you to repentance?
By your stubbornness and impenitent heart,
you are storing up wrath for yourself
for the day of wrath and revelation
of the just judgment of God,
who will repay everyone according to his works,
eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality
through perseverance in good works,
but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth
and obey wickedness.
Yes, affliction and distress will come upon everyone
who does evil, Jew first and then Greek.
But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone
who does good, Jew first and then Greek.
There is no partiality with God.

This is such a beautiful passage and there are quite a few life lessons in there for all of us to follow and learn from. 

Recent events have brought this front and center for me with one being the visit of Pope Francis and the other being the jailing of the clerk in Kentucky. Both events seem to have drawn lines of distinction among the people, or at least some of them. While millions of people were greeting the Pope and welcoming him to the U.S. with open arms and love, others were greeting him with signs such as, "there is no hope in the Pope." Is it a catchy phrase? Sure it is. Is it their right to wave that banner? Of course it is; as an American they are allowed to voice their opinions. If you delve deeper into it, though, you find out that these people believe that every person that follows the Pope, or the Catholic religion, are going to hell. They have condemned every last one of them. Are they not in trouble for condemning all of those people? Of course they are; read the first three lines of this reading again:

"You, O man, are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment.
For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself,
since you, the judge, do the very same things."

You could say that they are condemning themselves by condemning others. It does say that in the second line. You could say that I'm judging them based on their actions, but no, it is not a judgment. Their beliefs and teachings are fact and not my opinion. On a lighter note, that same blog that mentioned their banners also mentioned how tight security was for Pope Francis. They also noted how security watched them like hawks. Why wouldn't security be tight? They wanted to keep the Pontiff safe from over-enthusiastic people and from the haters and extremists. BTW security thanks you for the signs; it made their jobs so much easier to spot you. Yes, my friends, you were considered a threat to security. That isn't just my opinion either. It is common sense.

The other event, Kim Davis being jailed because of her beliefs, was another head scratcher moment for me. Okay, she is an elected official and, as such, she is supposed to do a job. She is totally and completely allowed to live her life according to her beliefs, as is every other American. If she does not believe in gay marriage, as an Apostolic Christian, she should have stepped aside and let a member of her staff do their job and issue the license. As the County Clerk she is supposed to carry out her duties as such; she was not elected to be the Chief of the Moral Police. But that is purely my opinion based on the politics of the situation. My head scratcher moment came with the onslaught of media coverage, particularly that in social media circles. I saw many posts, some from my own friends, that condemned her for her multiple marriages. Who is she to judge gay people when she has been married 3 times (or however many times it was). The same folks that found her actions to be offensive did not see how they were just as offensive by mocking her. (BTW-nobody elected me to be Chief of the Moral Police either). It did, however, remind me of the Bible passage about how we see the splinter in our brother's eye but neglect to see the wood beam in our own. 

Why don't we all focus on the last lines of this passage - "But there will be glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good....". Worry about your own relationship with Christ the King and stop judging everyone else by their actions and beliefs. Persevere in your own good works for all of our brothers and sisters in the human race, love one another as there is no partiality with God therefore there should not be partiality for each other either.

Peace

Mare

Rough Days Ahead....

and rough days behind.

I have had a miserable week. I feel like I swatted at a hornet's nest and they unleashed their fury on me because I upset them. Writing and thinking about it now is just like picking a scab on a wound that has started to heal and is bleeding again. But, I am going to rip off the bandaid and forge ahead anyway.

This week I have met people that are the most vile and contemptible ones I have ever met, in my entire life. That is a rather huge statement coming from someone that has visited people in prison multiple times and has been on the planet for close to 60 years.  I was berated, mocked, given heinous names and verbally pounded on by (surprisingly) not members of ISIS, but by people that claim to be Christians. I'm sorry, but any person that makes another feel anything other than love is not a Christian. I feel like I need to call an exorcist.

I thought I was a smart cookie until I fell for a bait post, hook, line and sinker. She led me into the lion's den and unleashed the beasts to ravage me.

Where did I meet these individuals, you ask? On Facebook. I had met my "friend" on LinkedIn as a businesswoman. She and I shared a professional women's group and we became connected on that site. She then initiated the connection on Facebook as well. I don't think that you have to be a rocket scientist to figure out my beliefs; look at what I do for a living and visit our Facebook or Pinterest page where it is blatantly obvious. I believe in unconditionally loving everyone, including my enemies, because that is what God expects of me. I believe in treating everyone with respect, but I will acknowledge that it is difficult to be Christ-like when you encounter the thought process of people like those in militant religious groups or even those in the Westboro Church. I did learn some things from these people, though not about Christ or Christianity but about false prophets and religious sects. It occurred to me that -

Calling anyone a heretic or a blasphemer is a heinous sin. It demoralizes someone completely and to cause damage like that to someone's spirit is a sin against the Holy Spirit. It is an unforgivable sin.

If you are trying to convert someone to Christianity well then act like a Christian. God is light and love. If you have God in you this shouldn't be a problem. If you verbally assault someone you are not a person of light, but one of darkness.

If you are reading a Bible that your preacher (or his father)  has included his own interpretations into, throw it out. This is especially true if their interpretations are right into the verses of the Bible. Get yourself a good Bible. Pray to the Holy Spirit to open your eyes before you read your new Bible. The spirit will hear you and open your hearts to receive the word of God.

Know where your money is going. My church publishes their financials a few times a year so I know where my hard-earned money is being spent. Jesus said give away all of your earthly possessions and follow me; not give me your money so that I can buy a lear jet and live in a mansion, with my six figure salary. Which leads me to the, so-called, prosperity Gospels. It has to do with acts of mercy and love and NOT with money. Many false prophets are using that to line their own pockets.

Seed money will not cure you. Giving money to your church and/or pastor will not cure you or answer your prayer. God answers prayers in so many ways and through so many people (doctors, nurses, therapists, and even financial advisors. Sure, support your church, but don't be naive about it. Pray to God with a sincere heart and for your own sake seek medical help when it is needed.

No true apostle of God should have to slander other Christian faiths to prop up his ministry. If they are speaking the truth, and live a humble existence, God will bring the people to them. Slander is a nasty business. If you have been taught to slander and demoralize those not of your ministry's, that is not being Christ-like, at all.

Most importantly if your preacher says that he is the reincarnation of someone like Elijah, or Enoch. RUN. Christians don't believe in reincarnation. If they claim to be Jesus, really, really RUN. I think we will all know him when He returns. He will be the dude on the cloud with the saints of heaven in tow.

I forgive these people. They are like lost sheep. The evil in them was palpable and even though I severed my relationship with this woman yesterday I still feel the sting today and will probably for a few more days. She, and the others, are in my prayers. May God have mercy on their souls.

Have a peaceful week,
Mare