Skip to main content

Judgment

 Differing weights and differing measures— the Lord detests them both. (Proverbs 20:10)

          When you stand in judgment of the person looking back at you in the mirror, do you render the same judgment as you would if your enemy did the same thing? Or the same as you would if the person you love “more than life itself” did it? I know that there are times when I do something I know to be sinful and make excuses. I can’t help it. I’m weak. I’m human. You probably know the litany.

          There are other times when I do something or fail to do something, that you’d probably think trivial, and glower at the woman in the mirror, giving her a dressing down as a miserable failure. You probably know that litany, too.

          Or, perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps other people are more accurate and honest in judging themselves. Ah, but that comparative determiner, more. It doesn’t mean that other people are accurate and honest, just that they might do a better job than I do. I suspect none of us can get rid of the word “more” without replacing it with “as” or “less.”

          When it makes us feel better to beat our breasts and tear out our hair, we do so. When it makes us feel better to pat ourselves on the head (or back), we do so. I’m not sure, but there might not be anything quite so terrifying as putting aside the differing weights and measures and being honest with ourselves. If we did, we might have to admit that we’re not so bad, or that we’re really a lot worse. Both possibilities are devastating to our egos. But that sort of honesty – that sort of knowing the truth – is what sets us free.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more