There Will Never Be An Easier Target

It seems the judging bandwagon always has plenty of seats. It’s ironic since we never had a culture that emphasizes tolerance more, yet it seems more than ever we are quick to pronounce judgment on the target of the moment. Now some of these targets are pretty easy ones. The hypocrisy, the lies, the foolishness are so evident it is hard not to condemn. More and more I see that everyone, including Christians, are all too willing to jump on the condemnation bandwagon of those that are looked upon as wrong in our eyes. However let’s consider an example from scripture;

Jude 1:9

But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

Here Michael, the chief prince of Israel (Daniel 10:13;21), the being that casted down Satan (Revelation 12:17), the one that will give the call at the return of the Lord (1^st Thessalonians 4:16), is matched up against the devil himself. If ever there was a good guy verses bad guy moment this has to be it. So you could see how it might be expected for him to attack with both barrels blazing.

But he doesn’t.

No rather than rail in judgment on the one who is the embodiment of wickedness, he simply exclaims “The Lord rebuke you”. He isn’t agreeing with the devil, or going soft on his evil ways; rather he is leaving the condemnation to the Lord. While he may be on the Lord’s side, he isn’t taking the Lord’s place. Vengeance and judgment belong to the Lord (Romans 12:19, Hebrew 12:23). It’s not his place to condemn, even for an archangel!

We could learn a lot from Michael. When we are faced with the temptation to stand in judgment of others, rather than attack and vilify, we rather need to respond with what the Lord said. His word’s will be the standard of judgment (John 12:48). Our personal feelings, the popular sentiment, our own two cents are not going to matter. Rather than elevate ourselves to the judgment seat we need to rather show what the Judge has said.

Before we think we can be the one to take out the easy target, we need to remember that it is not our shot to take. Our job isn’t to condemn but to teach. If we attempt to elevate ourselves to God’s position we are not overcoming the devil, we are become like him!

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