A few weeks ago, I was summoned to jury duty. I wasn’t able to write or talk about it, but now that it’s over, I am able to and can blog about it.
It was the case of the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ shootings. The preacher there, Joey Spann, I have known for over 40 years. As I thought about being on the jury for this case, I had to wonder how I would be unbiased. But when the judge heard that I knew Joey, his wife, and a couple of others involved, I was let go from that responsibility.
And responsibility it is. In all the correspondence from the government about that duty, including the letter of thanks from the judge!, the concept of our civic responsibility was evident.
But what about our Christian responsibility. Have you ever been told, “Don’t judge me?” People bring up Matthew 7. It says:
“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
I think we have to judge people’s actions. Sometimes we need to be told to wake up and realize our actions are not in line with God. Sometimes we are so involved in sin, we cannot see what we are doing is wrong. Sometimes we rationalize and say what we are doing is okay when it’s not.
But in showing others, with love, their mistakes, we have to be ready to accept judgement to ourselves. The passage above says with the judgement we render, we will be judged. Remember we all have specks and beams in our eyes to get out.
Be sure to show others with so much love! Show them just like you’d want to be shown. With love and grace.
Just like God does with us!
