Judge Not

     One of the favorite Bible verses quoted (ironically, in a most judgmental way) by people who don't believe the Bible is Mt. 7:1 "Judge not lest you be judged." It is used as a get out of judgment jail free card, as in, You have no right to criticize me. That's true, as one sinful human being to another, we have no right to judge/condemn. That belongs to God alone. We are, however, commanded to judge/discern (1 Cor. 2:15). Judgment, applied to ourselves, is what protects us from continuing to live in the sin Jesus freed us from and enables us to represent God in a world opposed to Him. Judgment, applied to other believers, is to restore their relationship with Jesus and his church. Judgment, applied to unbelievers, is to show them their need for Christ and to protect society's powerless.

     Human government, both to our amazement and disappointment, is God's plan to keep order on the planet He created. Our judges, though far from perfect, are his assigned authorities within that government. Whether they believe it or not, they represent him. That is why it is particularly reprehensible when they rule unjustly. Though American judges are less likely to be caught taking bribes, nearly all of them are taking sides. Particularly, the left side, which is why they strongly resisted our recent legislature's attempt to make them declare their political party. Though Montanans know our judges are a liberal leaning tower of partisanship, the judges do not want to put that in writing. Throughout our country, judges are ruling in favor of their political persuasion or personal opinion regarding abortion, gender, and other matters where God DID put his ruling in writing. The good/bad news is, the judges themselves will be summoned to court to answer for every decision. There is no Judge Not appeal in God's judgment hall. But it is a sad commentary on our nation's legal system that our judges are making lawyers look like the unbiased officers of the court.