James 4:11-12
My friends, don’t say cruel things
about others! If you do, or if you condemn others, you are condemning
God’s Law. And if you condemn the Law, you put yourself above the Law
and refuse to obey either it or God who gave it. God is our judge, and
he can save or destroy us. What right do you have to condemn anyone?
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Today
is the first day of public school for children in our state. I have
every confidence that there were more than a few children who entered
the doors of their classrooms with at least a little trepidation…and
probably even MORE mothers who tearfully left them. I still remember
one mother who stood at the door to my classroom…tears pouring down her
face…and said, “This is SO hard!” I knew that her child would be
perfectly fine…and so would she. I could see a part of the “story” that
she could not…I knew that within five minutes of her departure, her
child would probably be playing with the other children – as happy as a
clam. But it was hard to convince this mom…and there may have been a
little “eye-rolling” on my part!
I have to admit…as I’ve
watched our little ones begin their school “career” one-by-one, I have
better understood the tug at a parent’s heartstrings when these “babies”
step out into the big world. I see their side of the “story.” I know
what it’s like as a teacher for parents to say, “You just don’t
understand”…and I know how that feels for the parents. I also know what
it’s like for a child to have some natural apprehension about an
unfamiliar setting and new people. I “get” all sides. And this has
been a good lesson for me in why criticism and condemnation is a bad
idea.
So often, we only see our “side” of things. And that’s
where we get into trouble. Whether we operate out of fear,
misinformation, or just a judgmental spirit, we are sometimes
condescending and hypercritical of other people and situations...and
often, we don’t have a complete picture that includes all of the
information. More importantly, we fail to realize that when we do this
to others, we are doing the same to God. So when we criticize the person
who we think is “lazy, different, or worthless,” we are essentially
saying that God does not have the power or desire to make changes in
these people…that He intentionally creates “junk”…and this is simply not
the case.
When we are judgmental of another person for their
choices…or because of their size and appearance, race, sexual
orientation, ethnicity, struggles of some kind, socio-economic status,
or even their spiritual beliefs…we are declaring that God created
divisions among us and surely must love us more than the other guy. And we should know better!
As
the late Maya Angelou said (and I’m paraphrasing)…“When we know better,
we must do better.” If we trust God and believe that He has created us
and loves each of us equally, we must act like it. This doesn’t leave
any room for criticism and condemnation. Just as surely as the first
day of school will come and go and all will settle into their roles and
routines, we must trust God to show each of us our “role” and
routine…and leave the “fixing” to Him. We.can.do.this! Are you with me?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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