1 Peter 1:22
"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart".
I recently read an interesting blog recommended by my beloved to me. http://manuelluz.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/the-issue-of-age-in-modern-worship/
This blog talks about the epidemic that seems to be happening in the church today with the worship leader going the way of the young people. And how the older folks are being pushed out and not considered for leading worship anymore. The article never mentions judging the older folks and their ability to lead meaningful worship in church but it hints at it continually. While I was reading it though I began to think about how the church and the members in it are great at judging each other for who they think people really are and not getting to know them for who God made them to be or the struggles they might be having.
First I will say that I have dealt with this in my own life as I have pursued Pastoral ministry in churches full time. Churches I have applied to have seen my age, or lack of degrees, or even lack of formal paid experience and then judged me based upon those qualifications. I have discovered this is normal. But praise God a church did get past all the things I mentioned and sat me down and got to meet me and learn first hand how God has made me and what He is doing in my life. I am not sure yet what God is going to do in this relationship but I know it was amazing and was truly a blessings not to be judged for what I appeared to be like on paper and rather who I am as a person.
But the church does this type of thing ever day with each other in the pews. Maybe it is the man who is quiet, introverted, and not a social person that we think is not spiritual enough or not a leader. Maybe it is the person who is not outspoken and uses their actions to teach rather than words who we feel is not a true teacher. Maybe it is the stay at home mom who spends hours working for her family and is not involved with the church as much that we think is not spiritual or has a problem. We as a church judge each other daily and it can hurt each other as well as the reputation of Jesus and His children. Judging one another is a sin and wrong. We need to get to know people and see how God created them and what passions He has given them before we judge them.
Next, I will say though there is a time when we need to look and judge others in our church family because of sin. Maybe someone is sinning against us and we need to open up and let them know they are hurting us. Maybe that person is hurting others because of their sin and we need to help them realize what they are doing is wrong. Possibly the sin is ruining the reputation of God and we need to let them know they are destroying the name of Jesus. Finally maybe someone has an idol in their heart that has misplaced God and we need to help them realize that they have misplaced God in their lives. So there are times I believe that the Bible allows the faith family to "judge" what another family member is dealing with or what they have become. This "judging" though is meant to deal with sin and not how the person is created by God.
But most importantly in both of these good judging times and sinful judging times we need to realize that love must be the foundation and first step. We are called many times throughout the New Testament to love one another in the church. Love must be at the root of what we say and do. We must love our brothers and sisters in Christ and get to know who they are and how God has created them for His glory. Then we will learn not to judge them in a sinful way or love them in a helpful way and work through sin. Loving one another will also help us learn how to interact with each other and make us a unified body working for the glory of Jesus and the spread of His gospel. Loving each other in the church also shows the world what an extraordinary bond that the Christians have for each other and they will want to be a part of that loving relationship that glorifies our Savior.
So there are times to judge each other and there are times when judging is a sin. But love must be the root of any judging we do with each other. Actions with genuine love will always allow us to glorify God in what we say and do.
*As a side note, I do not think churches judging me for the person I am on paper is a sin, just not the way to always do things or discover how God is working.*
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