There’s only one Judge

Personal Photo: This is Jersey, my sweet little bestie. When I have hard days at work, when I feel like I just don't fit in, I come home to her, and she loves me so unconditionally. She doesn't care what other people say or think about her or about me, but instead she just continues to love me, to protect me, to be my friend. I can't help but think of God's unconditional love, which is so much greater and vaster. His love is something we can always run to when we feel judged, when we fall into the sin of judging other people instead of just the sin. He unconditionally loves us and protects us.

Last night we experienced some pretty harsh storms outside, and the booming thunder woke me up more than once. Our little pup, Jersey, usually has no issues with storms, but this was the first time we saw her a little uneasy with the noise and lightning. She was easy to soothe, but in the midst of the historical eight inches of rain in just a few hours, I couldn't help but think about Jersey's life before our paths intertwined.

For those of you who are just joining along in these weekly articles, Jersey was a stray dog that one of my coworkers found on the side of the road. The poor little dog was bone thin, with skin infections and no fur on her nose. When I ended up bringing her home, I chose to name her Jersey because of her cow-like spots. In less than two days she was responding to her new name and she was beginning to show signs of love. We have no idea what kind of dog she is, but her face definitely gives away that she is part Jack Russel Terrier. We quickly learned that Jack Russels are known to escape from wherever they are, and so it led us to believe that she maybe escaped a litter when she was a puppy, and was on the street for the next two years. However, all it took was for her to see one man with a beard and she became instantly protective, afraid, and defensive. It became quite apparent to Clay and I that Jersey was definitely abused, and she probably either escaped an abusive household, or was abandoned by abusers. While her past is something that we will never fully know, we have watched her turn from a scared stray dog into a playful, energetic, and loving member of our family. And with this, we have become part of her present and her future, which is something that I am extremely grateful for.

Clay and I take Jersey out for walks and she loves to explore new places. However, she certainly struggles with meeting new people and trusting them. She is fiercely protective and it can sometimes make it a challenge for us when she tries to defend us from literally everyone. With this being said, I make no apologies for Jersey defending her home and the ones she loves. She is not at all an aggressive pet, and I have never seen a dog so grateful to be loved. Not to mention how far she has come, how much she has grown from when we met her. She has progress yet to make (don't we all?), but we continue to be part of her breaking down walls and trusting not only us but many others that she has come to love. However, the judgement that I see from others when they meet her is something that intrigues me. They all come to quick conclusions, without ever giving her a chance, without ever listening to what her story may be. Truth be told, it got my wheels turning.

Judgment is a fact of life. It is something that we all encounter, receive, and distribute at different points of our lives. It is one of the most challenging topics in Christianity, and one that we have to come to terms with. The Bible talks often about judgement, and warns us about engaging in it. In James 4:11-12, we are told "Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" This really gets to the point quickly, doesn't it? The warning here is that if we consider ourselves worthy enough to judge other people, we begin to challenge God's authority, and elevate our own opinions to be equal or greater than the Lord's. In this verse, we are reminded that no sin is greater than another, that when we judge or people judge us, that it is really the pot calling the kettle black, considering we are all sinners, all equally in need of Jesus and His gift of salvation to us.

Judgement is two fold, like many of the difficult themes in Christianity, where not only do we receive judgement from others, but we also must deal with how our flesh wants to dish it right back out. However, the warning from the James verse above is applicable to us all, in every case of judgement. It reminds us to know our place. Similarly, in Matthew 7:1-2, we are told "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." Here we are told that whatever we are judging about others is something we would equally fail at if we were judged the same way. Sin is sin, and we all fail, so judging people based off of their sin is pretending as though we are better than the person we are judging, and that our sin is somehow better than theirs. It is a dangerous game to play.

I want to make a clarification here about judgement, as these Bible verses above are not telling us to ignore sin when we are around it, or to pretend as though living in sin is acceptable because we all do it. We are supposed to judge actions, not people. What I mean by this is God hates sin, but loves the people who commit them. He loves you and me, but despises the sins we commit, the reasons why His son had to die. When we think of it this way, it can clarify the verses from James and Matthew, which warn against judging a person, not against recognizing sin. Romans 12:9 states "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good." Here we can see the difference; We can love other people, love the good qualities we find in others and ourselves, and hate the actions that are not in alignment with God's word.

As I mentioned above, not only do we find ourselves judging others and needing to keep ourselves in check, but we also face judgements as well. Receiving judgement from others is one of the hardest things for me to accept, and I know it is an area for me to grow. Just like my story about Jersey, I have found that I have a hard time accepting that I have no control over the judgement I receive from others, and that as a child of God I am going to be targeted. It is true, my friends. 2 Timothy 3:12 reminds us of this, saying "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Believing in God, accepting the gift of salvation, and walking with Jesus means that the devil is actively targeting us, telling us that we do not fit in, that we are outdated, that we are outcasts in a setting of our peers. And while it can be challenging to handle every day, we need not make apologies for protecting our faith, for having roots set in the hope of Jesus Christ.

John 15:19 is one of my favorite verses to reference when I feel judged; It reads "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." God has hand-chosen us to be His children, to be His warriors, to be vessels for His glory. What an honor that this is that we are protected by His Almighty Hand and can walk through this world entirely untouched by the hate, the judgements, the attacks that the devil uses his workers to send our way? We are not meant to fit in, we are not meant to align with the values of the world, but instead because we are followers of Christ we are attacked. I cannot think of a better reason to be targeted, than for loving God. I will never apologize for being a child of Christ, for being a follower of His Light, for yearning for intimacy with Him. In this way, we can find power in the judgement from others. We do not fit in and we are not supposed to. We are judged because we are different, and that difference makes judgements from others powerless over us.

I began this article talking about my little pup, who is currently asleep on my lap as I write this article. People judge her because they don't know her, they judge her because she is protective, and they throw out critical judgements of myself and my husband because she barks a lot around strangers. The truth is that we are all judged, we all get quick and inaccurate criticisms thrown our way because they don't know us, because we are protective of our faith, and because we are outwardly grateful to be saved by the Lord's grace. Being saved, being a child of God is no reason to pass judgement to others, but it is a reason to be thankful for all the Lord has done and continues to do for us. In the same way, when we receive judgement from our peers, remembering that we are saved and chosen out of this world reminds us that we are immune from their attempts to slow down our work for God. Yes, judgement is two-fold, but all of the lessons around judgement are intertwined, reminding us that everyone is in need of saving, that judgement of other people is a dangerous and hypocritical action to engage in, and that when we remember the gift of salvation, the judgement from others may sting, but is entirely powerless over the love of God.