Judging Others
"Judge
not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you
will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
"Do
not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they
trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Ask, and It Will Be Given
"Ask,
and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you.For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and
to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Or
which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or
if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is
in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
"So
whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the
Law and the Prophets.
―Matt 7:1-2, 6-12
Alright, now that I’ve worked through my inner struggle regarding my
self-perceived worth/expertise vs. my actual spiritual worth to You, I submit
to a question; asking, seeking and knocking for Your answer.
As You know, Lord, the Beatitudes was one of my first memory verses. I
have typically looked at this portion, Matt 7 as a formula for personal
discovery and discipline. For a long time now, I have struggled with and tried
to work through my understanding of Your words in this passage. Judge
not…then…don’t give gifts to dogs or pigs? In my mind, this has sounded highly
contradictory.
But Your Spirit speaks to my spirit: what if these passages are as well,
instruction on how I should testify to others; evangelism, reaching out to
others, calling them to join me walking in the footsteps of you, Rabbi/Redeemer
Jesus?
When I review the passage using a testimonial lens, I begin to
understand:
Who You are speaking
about as the target(s) of my judgement?
What You mean by giving
away something that is “holy”?
Who is a dog or pig,
who is not a dog or pig?
And how can I make those
distinctions if I’m not to judge?
I pray, You answer: There is some implied/unwritten wording within Your
instruction. You ask me not to ignore, but to explore in context. I was tempted
to fill in the blanks with the easy answer―others. But You convict me
with another more expanded word You used throughout Your message―mind.
It is also understood by another name that has caused more than a little controversy
through the years―soul.
You have taught me Lord that the Greek word dianoia translates
either as soul or mind―the unseen realm we humans consider to be our personal
inner space wherein our choices and actions are determined.
This is not to be confused with another word
You inspired in scripture― psuchē which today is commonly
mistranslated as soul. The more accurate rendition is breath/spirit. As
I understand, this is my spirit which is breathed into me by You, or if I had
chosen to reject You, it may be breathed in by some other spiritual dweller. I
know this is dangerous ground to present with others reading along, but it is how
I have come to understand my place in Your universe. I am a body, endowed with
a mental soul. And within me is an additional space to be inhabited, through
choice or otherwise, by some spiritual force.
And so, my study of Matthew 7 suggests that
filling in the implied wording for context should help me better comprehend
what You are asking of me…
Judging Others
"Judge not (other souls), that you be not judged.
For with the judgment you pronounce (on
other souls) you will be judged, and with the
measure you use it will be measured to you.
"Do not give dogs what is holy―spiritually pure, morally blameless,
and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and
turn to attack you.
Ask, and It Will Be Given
"Ask (for souls who are seeking what is spiritually
pure), and it (also can be translated as
“they”) will be given to you; seek (souls
who are seeking what is spiritually pure), and you will
find (them); knock, and it (they; souls
who are seeking what is spiritually pure”), will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks (for souls
who are seeking what is spiritually pure) receives (them) , and the one who seeks (souls who are seeking
what is spiritually pure) finds (them), and to the one who knocks it (they; souls who
are seeking what is spiritually pure) will be
opened.
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread (metaphorically―spiritual food?), will give
him a stone (metaphorically―tomb/death)? Or if he asks for a
fish (metaphorically―testimony of sincere faith?), will give him a serpent (metaphorically―deception?)?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good
things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
"So whatever you wish that others would do to you (to help
you discover what is spiritually pure), do also to them, for this (testimony of God’s
existence to others) is the Law and the Prophets.
The same language and similar parallels can be found in the Luke,
Chapter 11 version of the Beatitudes, verifying that this message is equally
about how I am to not just embrace and live my life according to Your
revelation, but am also charged to actively share it.
So, what’s the big deal, Lord? What really changes in Your teaching
if I view it evangelically? For that, you led me back two chapters to Matthew
5:13-16
"You
are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its
saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown
out and trampled under people's feet.
"You
are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor
do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives
light to all in the house.
"In the same way, let your light shine
before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your
Father who is in heaven."
I am salt and if I lose my saltiness, I’m no longer useful? I am
light and should not hide? But the world would tell me that my faith is a
personal, private thing. I’m not to bother others with the details. What is
Truth, then? If I ignore Your testimonial teaching and challenge, it sounds
like I will not be counted as one of the “Beatitude Blessed”!
What’s so disturbing about this is that you, Lord, are not just
commanding this of a few friends, but of everyone who hears the message. And
the ultimate ramifications are striking as You tell in the final portion of
Matthew 7:
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and
does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the
rock.
"And everyone who hears these words of mine
and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the
sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds
blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of
it."
So, this is not
just about being right with You, it’s about sharing Your message with others
rightly? Wow. There is a lot to digest within this new framework. Does it
suggest that the “log in my eye” is not only addressing how I critique others,
but how I reach out to others to share Your Gospel?
More prayer,
more instruction. Lord, convict me daily to ask for opportunities and the
courage to engage with “the willing ones”, those eager for a new message of
hope. Teach me to be alert to Your Spirit’s working in those seeking. And when
I knock, let the door of other’s hearts, and my own heart be opened wide to
embracing Your lovingkindness and salvation through the sacrifice and
resurrection of Your son.
I remain Your
servant; asking, seeking, knocking—with open eyes and ears—for fellowship with
others by Your Spirit’s calling.
It is so,
Mark C.
