God is kind to you, so...

It is often human nature to judge others by some standard we hold up as the "yard stick" by which we measure their actions. Since the beginning of time, people have made all kinds of misjudgments based on what they "believe" at a given moment. Whenever we choose to compare our actions with those of another, how others respond to our actions versus the actions of the other, or what we imagine to be the better response to a circumstance, we are kind of moving into dangerous territory. The story of Cain and Abel wasn't just put into the Bible to teach us a blood sacrifice would be required for the forgiveness of sins. I was placed there as a way of helping us to understand just how "wrong" judgment can go when we get all wigged-out by our own "measures of success". One son had his gift offering accepted, the other's gift not so much. One was a farmer, the other a keeper of flocks. Cain brought some of the food he had grown, while Abel brought the best part of his flock for an offering. In a moment of "judgment", Cain never connected the value of his gift with the value of Abel's - he just saw the "favor" given to Abel and he began to rage with jealous anger. That moment of judgment led to one of the worst actions anyone can take against another - the taking of a life. The moment is recorded for us, not just so we know jealousy and anger are wrong, but so we think about the actions behind our judgments. They may not be very "accurate" or "honorable" simply because we use a wrong measuring stick by which to measure the actions or responses of another!

So do you think that you can judge those other people? You are wrong. You too are guilty of sin. You judge them, but you do the same things they do. So when you judge them, you are really condemning yourself. God judges all who do such things, and we know his judgment is right. And since you do the same things as those people you judge, surely you understand that God will punish you too. How could you think you would be able to escape his judgment? God has been kind to you. He has been very patient, waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don’t understand that God is kind to you so that you will decide to change your lives. (Romans 2:1-4)

We may not be "guilty" of exactly the same sin as another, but we are "guilty" of some sin of our own. We don't like to admit this because it makes us fallible, and it puts all eyes on us. No one wants to admit we do the same "dumb" things others do - especially when those actions are "marginally outside the expected actions" of a child of God. We don't want to admit we gossip about others, so we call it "being concerned" about another. We don't want to admit to having a problem with anger, so we label it "righteous indignation". We don't want to cop to the plea of "guilty" on any account, so we just hide behind our masks and try to fly under the radar. God is the only one capable of "right judgment", so whenever we engage in judging another by some standard we have set within ourselves, we are going to judge by a wrong standard. Even when we claim to use the Word of God as our standard, then launch into actions or activities which are then contrary to the standard laid out there, we are kind of acting a little hypocritical, don't you think?

The sad thing is that we are simply passing judgment on ourselves whenever we do this. "It takes one to know one" - a simple reminder that we recognize the faults of another because those same faults rise up to give us a problem or two in our own lives. The standard we would do well to utilize is the one God uses toward us - that of GRACE. Grace is akin to giving someone a long enough rope to decide they don't want to hang themselves! It is like God gives us enough "play", but never lets us go so far as to actually break that tie with him. Grace brings us back close and even breaks the bonds of that tie to whatever sin we were pursuing so we don't want to go back to it. It doesn't happen because he "judges" us, but because he loves us enough to provide a way for us to no longer fall under the judgment we deserve! Jesus made a way for us to step out from under the judgment and penalty we deserve by our actions. We need to make a way for others to step out from under our judgment and whatever penalty we want to hold over their heads. Their actions may very well deserve some kind of judgment but God's actions on their part are always based in grace - so ours should also be based in similar grace! Just sayin!

But...I wanna respond that way

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

How do we best 'imitate' God? We aren't called to be 'little gods' on this earth, but we are asked to 'imitate' the love and grace of God. Regardless of how another may act, our actions should reveal the grace of God. Easier said than done because THEIR actions seem to evoke a response from US that may not always be grace-filled! The truth of the matter is that THEIR actions are THEIR responsibility - OUR actions and responses are OURS. Grace begins in OUR response to THEIR actions, remembering that grace if GIVING another what they clearly did not deserve.

I know how easily our defenses can go up when someone says or does something we don't agree with. Trust me, I have had my share of my hackles being raised by the words or actions of another. We ALL get 'rubbed the wrong way' on occasion, sometimes without us even doing anything to 'deserve' the wrong actions of another. How we respond in those moments is how others will either see God in us or observe just how ungrateful we are for the grace of God in our lives. Why do I say we are ungrateful if we don't respond with love? Because God GAVE his love to a bunch of undeserving, self-centered, pride-filled people - grace sent his Son to the cross. If we respond with anything less than love and grace in those moments when our hackles are raised, are we really revealing gratefulness for that undeserved grace?

We don't 'imitate' God by going to church. We 'imitate' him by living out grace. That means we become the living, breathing church - grace-filled individuals who have found forgiveness for our own sins and want others to experience this same freedom. Good works alone are never going to reveal Christ to a hurting world. If our heart is revealed in our interactions with those who raise our hackles aren't filled with grace and love, then all the good works are really just a facade. Our heart is revealed in our responses to those who don't deserve grace or love, but who need both in unlimited measure! Just sayin!