Judge

We live in a world that judges everything. We’re all guilty. We might not think we are playing judge, but if we really think about it, we are. “Oh, they’ll never amount to anything.” “I can’t believe they would wear that in public.” These are judgment statements. We make such statements with limited knowledge and many times we don’t even know the person we judge. The thing is when we judge others we are replacing God as Judge. We are essentially saying we know better than God.

“For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is He who will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22). The Lord is our Judge. How do you feel about being judged by God? If you are a follower of Jesus you have nothing to fear. However, if you aren’t, you have everything to fear. All people will one day stand before God and be judged. We tend to be more consumed with what others think about us than we do God. However, God’s judgment is what we should be concerned about. Many of our judgments are inaccurate because we do have all the details. Therefore, our judgment is in error. But, God is all knowing and is in the position as Judge. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2).

God is the lawgiver. God’s laws were put in place at the time of creation. It is God’s laws that govern nature. Ocean waves, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, fire, gravity. Everything acts according to the laws that God has put in place. The human body even operates according to the laws of God. He has also set laws that govern how we should live our lives. Yet, we want to live our own way. I believe this is part of the reason there is so much anxiety, depression, and anger in the world. We are trying to live according to our own laws and neglecting the laws of God. There is freedom in God’s laws. When we live according to God’s laws, our minds will be on God and not other people. We won’t feel the need to judge, and the judgment of others will lose most of its sting.

Here’s the tough one. If you are up on current events then you are aware of the “no king” movement. People saying no king to rule over America. The truth is, there is a king and it’s not President Trump. It’s God. God is the king of everything. He is the ultimate authority. He is the lawgiver and judge. It is God who reigns. Because God is king, it is He who can save us. Not one person on earth can save our soul. Salvation comes through Jesus. Through recognizing His death on the cross and resurrection three days later. God is the one who saves us. He is our redeemer. He has redeemed this alcoholic. It’s important to remember that we are not perfect. Mistakes will be made. But there is forgiveness through Jesus. There is freedom. We no longer need to play judge. We can turn this over to the perfect lawgiver and judge. We can remove ourselves from the place that rightfully belongs to God. There is freedom in letting God be God.