Kill The Judge Within

When was the last time you judged someone for something they did?  If you are being honest it was probably the last time you went to the store and someone left their shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot when the metal corral was only ten feet away….no?  Just me?  I’m still repenting of that one.  Or perhaps you are judging yourself because you aren’t being as productive as the other social media superstars during this quarantine.  Still me…anyone else?  Bueller?… Bueller? 

But in all seriousness, we are a people who are prone to judge one another.  Often.  We judge each other by our hairstyles, clothing choices, what kind of car we drive, if we own a car, what kind of phone we have…We constantly look at the grass on the other side of the fence and wish ours was that lush, full, and green instead of infested with weeds.  Yet all the while we are neglecting to water and fertilize our own lawn.

Asaph struggled with this very same thing.  In Psalm 73 he goes on a sixteen verse rant about how wicked people are prospering for doing things that God would not approve of, and all the while he is being faithful to God and struggling through life.  At one point Asaph even wonders if he has been the foolish one following God all this time with nothing to show for it.

Have you been there?  Watching form the sidelines as someone cheats their way to some sort of victory? I have.  And I’ve been jealous beyond belief.  When my heart is not in the right place before God – content in what I have – then the comparison game really gets to me.  I wish I could play guitar like that guy.  I wish I could sing like that dude.  I wish…I wish…I wish.  I have found myself in the same shoes as Asaph wondering if this whole Christianity thing is worth it.  And you know what I have found in the end?  It totally is.

Just like Asaph’s journey in this Psalm, when I step into the presence of God everything gets put into perspective for me.  And it can be the same for you too!  Asaph confessed that he was being stupid, literally, he said “I was so stupid. I Was senseless and ignorant (Psalm 73:22 TPT).”  It takes a lot of guts and humility to say that.  To own that the negative opinions and judgmental attitude we have toward others is just that.  Stupid.  It is a waste of time and energy on our part.  

And when we come into the presence of an Awesome God we are made aware of the fact that He is in control and we are not.  He is a God that loved us so much that He was willing to die for us.  That simple fact opens our eyes to see how silly we were to worry so much.  It brings our focus back onto what we can control.  Our thoughts, our actions, our worship of God.  If you don’t like what someone is doing pray for them instead.  Ask God to show them his amazing love.  Ask God to overwhelm them with His presence.  

At the end of the Psalm Asaph declares that he will keep coming closer and closer to God.  And in so doing he will tell the whole world of God’s awesome works.  This is our journey as well.  When we realize what God has done for us we will want to shout it out loud for all to hear.  

So instead of practicing judgmental thoughts and tendencies during this time, let’s kill the judge within.

Let’s celebrate their wins.  

Let’s pray for them to know God intimately. 

Let’s be His hands and feet…from a reasonable six foot distance 🙂