Day 4
Judging Causes Problems
We All Sin Frequently By Judging
If I were to comment that my neighbor never mows his lawn and that his yard is always
a mess, somebody may say to me, "Don't be so judgmental." Am I judging? Am I
sinning?
There Exists Both "Good" And "Bad" Judging
"Judging" is not always sin. The Bible talks about four types of judging. Three types
are "good" judging, and are not sin. One type is "bad" judging, which is sin.
"Good" judging:
The Sinful Judging Is Destructive
"Bad" judging is the sin that causes the most problems in our lives. When we find
ourselves doing the things that we hate, the root that is causing this bad fruit is almost
always a judgment.
The problem has its source in the Garden of Eden. When the serpent said, “For God
knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Adam and Eve took this bait because something
inside of them wanted to be like God. Satan knew all about this sin, because this was
also his big transgression.
When we judge someone we are trying to take the place of Jesus, and of course this is
very serious, because Jesus is the only one who has the right to judge. When we do
this, we are violating the first Great Commandment: You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37). There is
only one God, and it isn't us! We are doing the judging because we do not trust God to
take care of us and to hold others accountable when they hurt us. We feel we must take
the law into our own hands; because if we don’t do it, we believe that nobody will.
Our Weakness
When we feel that we have been hurt, we always automatically react with bitterness,
judgment, and blame.
We all judge, and we do it often. If you think you don’t do it, there is one sure way to
discover the truth. Ask yourself, do you do the things that you hate to do? Is there bad
fruit in your life? If there is bad fruit, there are roots of bitterness in you.
Fortunately, you now have a way to clean up the mess. As often as you judge, you
can forgive and be forgiven. The bad root can be pulled out as soon as it is planted.
How Can You Tell?
How can I tell whether I have judged someone in the way that I am not supposed to? I
can feel it. I can absolutely feel the bitterness of the bitter root. It’s that “yucky” feeling
inside that lets me know there has been a bad root planted in my "honeycomb."
However, there are times when we may not feel bitterness towards someone who
wronged us. When a wound we have received is particularly severe, we may have
unconsciously built a defense to protect us from feeling the pain related to it. For
instance, a girl may have been abused by her father, and yet have no sense of her rage
towards him. The pain she felt at the time was too big to live with, so she cut herself
off from the feeling. We call this sort of defense mechanism "denial." She truly does
not even know she is angry inside. However, there will be "bad fruit" in her life that will
indicate the presence of a "bad root;" and so she can track backwards from the "bad
fruit" to the "bad root."
Summary
We all automatically react to being hurt with bitterness, judgment, and blame. Every
time we do this we plant a bitter root which, in time, will bear bad fruit. The more that
we are hurt, the more bitter roots we have planted, and the more we will be reaping bad
things in our life. It is therefore important to realize that what is going wrong in our life
is not because of what others did to us, but it is because of our bitter reaction to what
they did. The good news is that there is a "cure" for the damage the sinning has
caused. I will discuss this on Day 5, "Forgiving Ends These Problems."
Reflection:
Growing up, what were you taught about judging?
Do you think what you learned was accurate?
Can you think of a time when you judged as a reaction to your own hurt? Explain.
Were you aware that this type of judging was planting a bitter root inside of you?
Would you like to change this?
List any people that you don’t like, or any people who stir anger in you when you
think of them.
Judging Causes Problems
We All Sin Frequently By Judging
If I were to comment that my neighbor never mows his lawn and that his yard is always
a mess, somebody may say to me, "Don't be so judgmental." Am I judging? Am I
sinning?
There Exists Both "Good" And "Bad" Judging
"Judging" is not always sin. The Bible talks about four types of judging. Three types
are "good" judging, and are not sin. One type is "bad" judging, which is sin.
"Good" judging:
- 1. The judging that Jesus does. Since He is the just and righteous Judge
Who has been appointed to this position, He has a right to do this.
2. The judicial authority that is to be exercised corporately by the Church in
regard to members of the Church. Judging in this context is appropriate and
ordained by God.
3. Judgment that we exercise as Christians when we are using wisdom and
discernment.
- 4. The fourth type of judging is the type of judging that we are not
supposed to do as individual Christians. This type of judging by us is sin. When
we do this type of judging, we are seeing the negative in a situation or a person,
but we are also setting ourselves up as the judge, jury, and hangman.
The Sinful Judging Is Destructive
"Bad" judging is the sin that causes the most problems in our lives. When we find
ourselves doing the things that we hate, the root that is causing this bad fruit is almost
always a judgment.
- . . . lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many
become defiled (Hebrews 12:15).
The problem has its source in the Garden of Eden. When the serpent said, “For God
knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Adam and Eve took this bait because something
inside of them wanted to be like God. Satan knew all about this sin, because this was
also his big transgression.
When we judge someone we are trying to take the place of Jesus, and of course this is
very serious, because Jesus is the only one who has the right to judge. When we do
this, we are violating the first Great Commandment: You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37). There is
only one God, and it isn't us! We are doing the judging because we do not trust God to
take care of us and to hold others accountable when they hurt us. We feel we must take
the law into our own hands; because if we don’t do it, we believe that nobody will.
Our Weakness
When we feel that we have been hurt, we always automatically react with bitterness,
judgment, and blame.
We all judge, and we do it often. If you think you don’t do it, there is one sure way to
discover the truth. Ask yourself, do you do the things that you hate to do? Is there bad
fruit in your life? If there is bad fruit, there are roots of bitterness in you.
Fortunately, you now have a way to clean up the mess. As often as you judge, you
can forgive and be forgiven. The bad root can be pulled out as soon as it is planted.
How Can You Tell?
How can I tell whether I have judged someone in the way that I am not supposed to? I
can feel it. I can absolutely feel the bitterness of the bitter root. It’s that “yucky” feeling
inside that lets me know there has been a bad root planted in my "honeycomb."
However, there are times when we may not feel bitterness towards someone who
wronged us. When a wound we have received is particularly severe, we may have
unconsciously built a defense to protect us from feeling the pain related to it. For
instance, a girl may have been abused by her father, and yet have no sense of her rage
towards him. The pain she felt at the time was too big to live with, so she cut herself
off from the feeling. We call this sort of defense mechanism "denial." She truly does
not even know she is angry inside. However, there will be "bad fruit" in her life that will
indicate the presence of a "bad root;" and so she can track backwards from the "bad
fruit" to the "bad root."
Summary
We all automatically react to being hurt with bitterness, judgment, and blame. Every
time we do this we plant a bitter root which, in time, will bear bad fruit. The more that
we are hurt, the more bitter roots we have planted, and the more we will be reaping bad
things in our life. It is therefore important to realize that what is going wrong in our life
is not because of what others did to us, but it is because of our bitter reaction to what
they did. The good news is that there is a "cure" for the damage the sinning has
caused. I will discuss this on Day 5, "Forgiving Ends These Problems."
Reflection:
Growing up, what were you taught about judging?
Do you think what you learned was accurate?
Can you think of a time when you judged as a reaction to your own hurt? Explain.
Were you aware that this type of judging was planting a bitter root inside of you?
Would you like to change this?
List any people that you don’t like, or any people who stir anger in you when you
think of them.
Divinely Designed
Being changed into the image of Jesus
A miracle can happen to you, like the transformation that
happens when a worm is transformed into a butterfly
(2 Corinthians 3:18).
Being changed into the image of Jesus
A miracle can happen to you, like the transformation that
happens when a worm is transformed into a butterfly
(2 Corinthians 3:18).
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