| "His Path" Non-Denominational - Christian Ministries - "A Bible Based Church" Houston, Texas |
Judge Not… Lest ye be Judged Reverend Timothy Hutchings Pastor, “His Path” Ministries Romans 14:13 “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.” This past weekend and into the week, I have had to opportunity to learn a great deal about this verse and how I can interpret it. I would like to start with the first part of this verse. “Let us not therefore judge one another any more.” These are beautiful words and I must say probably apply in one way or another to every human being living on this planet. We all place judgment at one time or another on some person, place, or thing. Now I guess that in and of itself is not a harmful thing, but when we allow those judgments to harm other people, then we have to step back and take a look not only at ourselves but why we have created these judgments. As I said, this past weekend I have had the opportunity to experience this judgment process in action. I will just say that it involved my family and extended family and by the time all the dust had settled also involved some family friends. The major cause of all of this is the big differences in how my family thinks about things and how my wife’s family thinks about things. Unfortunately the two sides have not had many opportunities to get together and so the few times they have, needless to say things done by one have hurt or offended the other ones. Judgments are made and because of the few opportunities to come together, ill feelings fester and grow into strong emotion. Does this sound familiar to many of you as this is a very common experience among families that are brought together by marriage and one family experiences life from a financial disadvantage as opposes to the other, and this sometimes brings the seeds of adverse feelings. Well to continue, these old judgments when coupled with other circumstances lead to many harsh words and criticisms to be said and many hurt feelings. It has also led to me and some one I love dearly probably not speaking for a very long time. I was not directly involved, but because I felt one of the parties was in the wrong, I involved myself and it did not go well. Judgments were abound and as happens many times it creates “stumbling blocks or occasion to fall”. I feel this topic is very appropriate as we are coming into the holiday season when families come together and celebrate their love for each other and spend time enjoying being with each other. This is also the time to forgive and forget our judgments of others as we hope they can for us. We are all God’s children and should learn to love each other and accept each other as he does each and every one of us. As it says in Mathew 7:1 “Judge not, that ye be not judged”, a simple message possessing a very big lesson. None of us can claim to be without fault or mistakes in life, and although it may make us feel better to blame or judge someone else it really does not help us or them in the long run. We are all here living and working and playing on this great big planet and we need to learn to be accepting of everyone and hope that they can all be accepting of us. As I have heard most of my life, “what goes around, comes around” and it has proven true more times than I can remember. I was guilty of judging someone of being wrong and handling a situation wrong and they were guilty of judging someone else’s behavior as wrong and now we are all suffering because of these judgments. Time and understanding will heal all of this. In the mean time, I have learned yet again how our actions can speak far more than words and how actions based on judgments of others can be a painful lesson. Being a minister does not mean that I know all the answers, nor do I always do the right thing. I only have that same love of God that we all share and that knowing that I am loved. I would also like to think the ability to eventually come to my senses, find a better way to deal with situations, and to share it with others as I continue this education called life. I would like to conclude with this message. Always try to see that there are two sides to every situation. Be open to different opinions and always have the courage to speak your own opinions with love in your heart. It is God’s desire that we all learn to love each other and cherish each other as we experience all the beauty he has created for us. I know I will heal the hurt feelings that have occurred, and I hope to bring two people together that have not given themselves the chance to. This is a mission that God has given us all. I challenge each and every one of you to find it in your hearts to quit judging others and to speak with courage and love to anyone that has grown apart from you because of any judgments you may have had. Make this a truly spirit filled holiday season as you judge less and love more. Bless you all, Rev. Tim Hutchings Thank you, and may God Bless you and your families! In His Service Reverend Tim Hutchings "His Path" Ministries |
| An Independently Chartered Christian Church Established 2007 |
| Phone: 281-380-0539 |
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