Songs & Judgments

12/16/2018

Yesterday, I wrote about a couple of things I wish to mention again: the first is about the SIMH. Each day, when I wake up, within seconds there is a song in my head. I don’t have to consciously think where’s my song, but if it is a song repeating itself from a previous day or days, I can shake that out of my mind and it gets replaced. This morning it’s almost laughable, I had in my mind The Tender Trap, shook it away and what came to mind next was “Just a Dream. Just a Dream”—Jimmy Clanton, 1958. He was one of the few white R & B singers in the 50s. From Baton Rouge, LA, had several hits (top 40) and resides now somewhere in Pennsylvania. He was amongst some big names back then; Fats Domino, The Platters, Jerry Lee Lewis, on and on. Isn’t it amazing what comes to mind?

The other thing I wrote about which I wanted to bring up again was my frustration. (Scroll to the last couple of paragraphs on yesterday’s blog if you didn’t read it.) If that sounded judgmental that’s because it was. I’m not really apologizing for being judgmental, that part isn’t wrong. What’s wrong with my rant in the judgment is airing it. I know this audience isn’t huge, but I may have caused someone to allow a person or persons to enter their mind to think that is who I was referring to. I apologize for that. 

Judging others isn’t wrong. We do that every day. We decide with whom we spend time, we decide whether to continue in conversation or change the subject. We decide on the basis of our own desire or the desire of others who we want to please. But, our judgments get moved over into a larger realm of possibilities, also. For instance, as I write, some of you are deciding to go or not go to a certain church or bible class on the basis of how you are practicing judgment. (“I don’t want to go hear him because he…” or “the last time we went their he picked on Rev. so-and-so..”—judgments.) You are not wrong to have them. You do and you should make them. 

What needs to be examined is the core value which drives your personal  judgments. When the Lord said, “Judge not, lest you be judged,” He went on to tell you what to expect would come your way if you judged. Well, it is coming your way. Expect it. Therefore we ought to embrace our privilege and our personal calling to judge for ourselves. the same Lord also says in John 7 for us to “..judge righteous judgment.” What’s that mean? Use righteous standards to make sure your decisions have merit, the kind of merit which will stand at that day when you will be judged! How are we to find this righteous standard? Look around until you do. If you set standards for your decisions based on what other mankind has written or taught you at some point in your past, upon what basis were they so authoritative that you should acquiesce to their words? Where, then, shall any of us find words to describe the right or the wrong of anything? 

May I suggest the Bible has a formula for this and it doesn’t take very long to understand the “how to,” but it will take years of study for the quiz and even then, you and I are naturally bent toward the wrong, not the right, and we’ll still have need of correction. 

This is a great place to interject a grace thought: Jeremiah said, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed!” We stand in a time of God’s grace. He is not, today, going to judge what we do or say. We are at liberty, but it is for this purpose: God has called us to be “conformed to the image of his Son that He might be among many brethren.” 

So, God gave us a book of explanation of His righteousness, telling us how to find it in His Son!—not in ourselves. But, if you will “examine yourself” as you are instructed, you will either find yourself in need of a Savior (and Christ died for your sins, was buried , and was raised again for your justification—believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you’ll be saved), or if you know you are saved you are to use God’s word as the method of examination by this method: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” That’s the basis for judgment. Simple, but it’ll take a while.

Thanks for reading, the Elder