In a conversation the other day, my wife was talking about some ridiculous things people have been posting on Facebook lately. Someone spoke up and stated, "We are Christian, so we are not supposed to Judge anyways."
This got me to thinking. On the surface, this person was right; we shouldn't be running around judging others or delving out their punishments. But on the other hand, the comment they made rang clearly as the clarion call of the backsliders and the liberal movement. "Who are you to judge!" "I thought you were Christian? You are no better than ______"
It seems that the farther away from Christ one gets, the louder the cry becomes. The walls of paranoid defense go up when the hedge of Holiness goes down.
When I look at scripture, I do not see the defined rule on Christians not judging. Sure, I see Judge not lest ye be judged. That in and of itself would seem proper, however, when placed in context with the rest of the scriptures, I see that it is telling the hypocrites not to judge someone when they were doing the same things them self. So if you do not have that plank in your eye and can see clearly, it should be proper for you to approach a falling soul and talk to them.
Today's world has desensitized people and this desensitization has crept into the churches. It has people believing that we should accept diversity or that we should accept the wrong doings of others. It has them believing that nobody has a right to speak out against sin nor do they have a right to respond to it.
So we find the wavering saint in places like Facebook, waving their supposed new found liberties( in reality they are waving chains of bondage once again) and bragging with their statuses or their photos on how 'free' they can be. They know they are connected to you, they know that they will offend and they know that many times, their actions will prove to be controversial....yet they do it anyways.
They stand by, ready for action, ready for response, ready to attack with the out of context scripture, "Judge not!"
This is not your normal un-churched person. These are those who were once walking the path but have began to waver. Handling a person who is not even drinking the milk of the gospel, understandably, you would not approach the same way as you would a person who has chewed on the meat of the gospel. These people have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. They have sat on the pew. They have heard the message. They have stained the altar with their tears. Now though, they find themselves in a different position, a posture of defense. "Don't you dare comment about me!"
Christians need to be postured at the altar. They should be looking to live above reproach. They should not be in a defensive mode but in a loving mode. In fact, defense is one of the 'fight or flight' conditions of the human psych. It raises it's head during a moment in which fear is introduced. It raises it's head when the person begins to feel threatened.
Fear is result of our attempting to stand in our own strength and not Gods. It is, in this case, an uneasiness of mind upon the thought of what others might say or think about us. It is produced in anticipation of the impending events due to a persons decisions or stance. It is a product of the mind. Phil 2:5 tells us "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." If our minds our set to be like Christ’s, then why would one be in fear or in defense of their decisions?
Facebook is just one of many facets in which people are choosing to wave their views. They show an insignia of fear upon their banner. The preparation for defense of self is well under way. The scripture "Judge not!" is in hand. They are ready to find another reason to justify their decisions.
As Christians I can say, we need to be careful on how we approach one in need, not with a watered down warning, but also without a condemning tone either. We do need to warn the unruly. We do need to help a fallen soul. We do need to be there when they come home. We don't need to be rude nor feel the need to be their executioner. If we follow the steps of Christ, we will be fine. In the end though, our message might not be well received. Looking back though, the message and warnings from Jesus were not well received either.
