I think my neighbor’s house is big and ostentatious, but mine is the same size. I think the kids at school are rude and obnoxious, but mine are just as disrespectful. The people at church act one way on Sunday but I see them act as heathens all throughout the week, but they see me do the same. I condemn the world for it's silly views and beliefs that don’t align with mine, but when my views are challenged, I explode. I gossip about the guy at work that got fired for fudging numbers, but I pad my expense report every week. It’s so easy to point the finger of judgement but as we do, three are pointing back us.
The hardest person on this planet to judge is the one that you gaze at in the mirror everyday. It’s almost like we are personally coated in Teflon, we easily judge the world but when it comes to us, judgement slides off, not sticking in the least. When I have conversations about church and Christians with unbelievers, the automatic response is just this; “I don’t like church (or Christians) because they are hypocritical.” They say one thing but do just the opposite. They talk about loving everyone, but they only love the people they choose to love, not the ones they are commanded to. They talk about giving financially to support God’s work, but they hold onto their money with an iron grip. They talk about purity, but they get caught cheating on their spouse. They talk about sobriety but they’re at the bar every weekend. They talk about forgiveness, but they’re involved in harsh verbal assaults on Facebook daily. They’re fake, ingenuine, pious, sanctimonious, hollow, and self-righteous. And from much of what I’ve seen from church folk, they would be accurate.
So why is it so hard to judge our own actions and so easy to judge others? Well, I’d have to go back to the foundation of our sin nature, pride. It’s so very difficult for us to admit we’re wrong, admit our faults and admit that we've made a mistake. Want an example? Just saunter up to someone today and tell them they’re wrong. Oh yeah, and when you do, get ready for a tussle. People don’t like to be told they’re wrong or be criticized, even when they’re blatantly wrong. It’s just part of who we are. A perfect example has been the entire covid pandemic. When it comes to the stats and science there are two distinct parties and they fight viciously against each other, with neither side ever willing to admit they could be wrong or make a mistake. Mask wearing? Again, two sides viciously arguing, never ever coming close to admitting that there could be error anywhere in their stance. Yet it’s one thing to have someone else tell you you’re wrong, but what about you telling yourself your wrong. Unheard of?
One of the hardest things in the world is to properly monitor and police yourself. In order to do that you’d need to keep your eyes on your own behavior, actions and thoughts more than others. And well, that’s just not nearly as fun. There’s no fun in beating ourselves up over our wrongs...but beating others up over what we perceive they are doing wrong? Well, I think it’s safe to say that this “sport” has overcome the NFL and the MLB as the new national pastime.
Today in 2 Kings 10 we see a hypocrite. Someone that served God perfectly when it came to passing judgement on others but could not bridle himself. Someone that was ever so ready to judge others for idolatry but could not look in the mirror at his own idolatry. We met Jehu in chapter 9 and saw him kill king Ahaziah, king Joram, and queen Jezebel. God had instructed him to destroy the house of Ahab and he was faithful in the killing. But to effectively wipe out the possibility of another heir rising to power, more killing needed to be done. We see Jehu, in chapter 10, wipe out 70 descendants of Ahab, 42 descendants of Ahaziah, and an entire assembly of worshipers to the false god Baal. He was quick and eager to serve God in the pronounced judgement of others, but when it came to judging himself, he failed miserably.
“So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.” 2 Kings 10:28-31
Folks, today, look at yourself in the mirror much longer than you look at others. Search your own heart much longer that you look at another’s. Judge your own motives more intensely than you judge another’s. Look at your own faults more critically that you do your neighbor’s. Look at your sin under a microscope, not those around you. You see, Jehu was obedient to God. He did what God asked him. But not all the way. He was partially obedient. And in a powerful quote from my pastor, “Partial obedience is the same as willing disobedience.”
The world as we know it would change overnight if people judged themselves more than they judged others. The landscape of our society would be altered radically if people took their walk with God more seriously than simply expecting others to have a perfect walk. Today, stay in your own lane, get right with God and work on your own life. And I’ll do the same. As a result, we can make the world better the only way it is possible, one heart at a time being changed by the power and righteousness of Jesus Christ.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-5
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