Ecclesiastes 12:10

  Fred and Martha were driving home after a church service. “Fred,” Martha asked, “did you notice that the preacher’s sermon was kind of weak today?” “No, not really,” answered Fred. “Well, did you hear that the song leader was off-key?” “No, I didn’t,” he responded. “Well, you certainly must have noticed that young couple and their children right in front of us, with all the noise and commotion they made the whole service!” “I’m sorry, dear, but no, I didn’t.” Finally, in disgust Martha said, “Honestly, Fred, I don’t know why you even bother to go to church.”   It’s good to be observant, but if all we can do is find fault, maybe it would be better if we didn’t pay attention. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.    James 5:9     Don’t be the person that only bothers to bother others. One of the greatest lies we believe is that our criticism and co...

    There is a bad tendency in our world today to look back in history and apply modern philosophy and thinking to the ancient world.  It becomes very easy to judge those folks from our safer, easier, and protected perspective.  Yet the truth is that they lived in different times and under different circumstances that we couldn’t really understand without being in their shoes.  Before we pat ourselves on the back as being different and better, we might need to think more about how we’d be in those circumstances.   I think this is Paul’s point in 1 st Corinthians 10. He tells those hundreds of years later that those in ancient Israel were in a different world, but were still a lot like them. He then goes on to show how they failed to live pleasing to God, warning us to heed the example. He then says, “ Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him w...

    To listen to us, we seem to be experts on everything. Tax laws, police procedures, driving, medical practice, product shipping, and street repair. At least we are willing to tell others how all that should be done.    In James 4:11-12, he makes an interesting perceptive;  “ Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?”  When we judge others, we place ourselves on the throne of God and outside the jurisdiction of the law. We think we are better and are not subject to the same law.    Yet we are not God. We don’t have the authority, the knowledge, or the power to take that position.  We need to remember that before we are quick to pronounce judg...

  In 1798, Issac Davis committed the first notable bank robbery in American history. He stole $162,821 from the Bank of Pennsylvania at Carpenters’ Hall in Philadelphia. He almost got away with it. Early suspicion fell on the blacksmith who forged the vault.   But then Davis went and deposited that amount in the bank. Not another bank, the exact same bank. I guess he wasn’t worried about the same robbers coming back.   You would think the bank robber might not put his money in that bank, but people are funny. They see flaws in others but not themselves. An arrogant man will condemn others' pride. A selfish person will complain other how others are just in it for themselves. An adulterer will accuse his spouse of infidelity.  As Paul writes in Romans 2:21-23,  “ you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal?  You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You...

  A report by Dr. William Martin to the American Medical Association in 1913 didn’t pull any punches. In his assessment of public-school children in New York, he found forty pupils he described ‘as the worst in the school’ and eighteen of which being ‘so stupid they were in ungraded classes.’ He also noted that ‘eleven were so stupid that it required three terms to do the work of one term’.  Not the most polite or hopeful message.   So, what was so wrong with the ‘delinquent’ children? It turns out the all needed glasses.   We can be quick to judge a person thinking we know what is wrong with them. We quickly relegate their foibles as character flaws and dismiss them with derision. But it may be what we think of as malice may just be a misunderstanding.   That is why we must be careful of rash judgment of others, especially in the public forum. Instead of jumping on the attack we need to make sure we are understanding and trying to be understood. Others may not...

  It was an injustice to the poor. It was a waste of resources. It was a selfish act of indulgence.   When a woman took a vial of costly perfume and dumps it on the feet of Jesus, Judas is indignant. As the odor fills the room so does his outrage. (John 12:3-4) The other disciples agree with him, “Why the waste”?(Matthew26:8)   It seems he has the moral high ground. How could you not care about the poor! If that was all that was said you might think he was right   But he wasn’t.   Jesus clearly dismisses these charges. What she did was appropriate for the time. Her good thing isn’t a slight to anyone but a sign of the love she had for her Lord. She shouldn’t be scolded she should be remembered. They would have a chance later to help the poor but they only had that moment to revere Him.   Many people make arguments like Judas. They get on a high horse to make a case that takes a good that others do and tries to twist it into a percei...

  The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s job is to protect the public from products that may be dangerous. They might fine companies for bad practices or force them to recall products that are too dangerous.  To facilitate that mission, they produced and distributed 80,000 lapel buttons, but they had to be recalled since the edges were too sharp.  And the paint used had too much lead.  And the clips could break off and be swallowed by children.  Maybe it is easier to see the mistakes than to make the product perfect.    Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door . James 5:9   It is easy to find fault in what others do. Maybe that fault is warranted but don’t make the mistake of thinking that in doing so you are in a superior position.  Criticizing is easy. Creating is hard.  Too many folks think they are doing something s...

      T he Koreans have a term to describe a person who’s better at everything than you are, Umchina . If you translate it literally it’s "mom's friend's son".   Things are not that different here.   Everyone can find that person who we always fall short of (If you can’t ask your Mom). The standard of others is always a standard that will be a little too big for us. It can make us feel inadequate and incapable.   Aren’t you glad God doesn’t do that?   All of us will not be held to the standard of others but to our own. Another person's judgment will not factor into it (Romans 14:4). It won’t matter what your mom’s friend's son did but it will matter what you did! But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.   For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."  ...

    Psychologists have found an interesting trick to make people like you. Act like them.   Not acting like the psychologist, (unless you want them to like you) but the person whom you’re trying to win affection from. The process is called mirroring. It is reflecting the manner of speech and movement of another while speaking to them. It works because it is subconsciously triggered that the person is like we are and therefore worthy of consideration.   It reminds me of Paul’s words in Titus 3:2-3, “... showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves …” It can be hard to not speak against those whom we see behaving in ill manners. It’s easy to bash the foolish government or the young and dumb when they are just a faceless entity. But when we think of them as a person and more so a person not wholly that different than what we were at one time, it becomes more difficult to hate. We give ourselves a lot more rope than we tend to gi...

  If you think learning is weighted to the side of the instructor you probably are not going to learn much no matter how good the instruction is.   We say it like this, ‘I didn’t get anything out of that sermons’ or ‘the teacher is too boring to keep my attention’, or ‘that person just can’t relate to the audience’. They are all are ways of saying the same thing. The failure to learn is not the fault of the learner   However, let’s consider this scripture: A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding . Proverbs 14:6   Notice the difference?   Those that are quick to judge the process never seem to find anything at all. But for those wanting to learn, there is plenty to find. If we are too busy judging the lesson, it removes the possibility of getting the lesson (James 4:11).   Don’t think I’m saying there are not needed improvement in our teaching, there absolutely are! What I’m...

  You probably heard the adage ‘ Don’t judge someone till you’ve walked a mile in their shoes ’. The idea is that when we place ourselves in someone else situation it might change our perceptive on how we think about them. The Bible encourages this for us but it goes even farther; it asks us too put ourselves in their stocks. Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. Hebrews 13:3   The text of Hebrews here says for us to put ourselves in the state of prisoners. That might be hard to do. It is easier for us to think of a prisoner as someone who is getting the fate they deserve. That might be the case. Of course in this time frame, the folks in prison could have done nothing more wrong than being a Christian. Still the temptation is to shy away from in that state rather than put yourself in their place.   It doesn’t just happen to people in literal prisons it happens to ...

  From 1918 till 1920, about 75 million people died on the flu. The epidemic was a global one but the disease was known by a regional moniker, the Spanish flu. It didn’t start there nor was Spain hit particularly harder than any other nation, so why did it get the name?   The reason was World War 1. The combatants in WWI didn't report on how badly the flu had hit their nations. Not wanting their enemies to know how sick they were nor did they want their own people, they instead censored the reports. Spain neutral in the conflict had no reason to hide the truth, so it looked as if it was being hit harder than the rest. So it became known as “Spanish Flu”.       Often times those that are authentic in their behavior are relegated as oddballs. For example, those that confess their sin are looked down on when in truth there are many of those setting in silent judgment there that have the same if not worse sins. People that admit to faults are seen as we...

  I’m normally not one for changing scripture but follow me on this one. In Romans 14:4 we read: Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.   Now read it again and change one word. Make judge compare. Why do you compare yourself with the servant of another? When you think about they are reflective words. Comparison is a form of judging. Yet comparison is typically done negative towards ourselves. Why am I not as good as them? How come I can’t do what they do? Why do they get all the breaks?  This form of judging is all too common in our world. We create in others an ideal that we can’t meet, then wallow and worry about our failures? Failures to whom? God will be our judge; not our skewed perceptions. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of G...

   You may have heard about how the Cleveland Indians Baseball franchise is removing the longtime mascot Chief Wahoo from its logo. For some, the caricature was a racist stab at Native Americans. Some wonder if it won’t be long till the club changes its nickname as well since some view it as an offensive term. They might have ground since it started that way.  The story begins with a player Louis ‘Sock” Sockalexis. [i]   He was a teenage phenome from Old Town, Maine. He was a member of the Bear Clan where his grandfather was a chief. He was recruited to play baseball at Holy Cross College and then Notre Dame until he was stolen away by a scout to play for Cleveland. His legend preceded him in Cleveland. Many, even to this day, argue he was one of the best to ever play the game. He added to the legend on his first game when the opposing pitcher flatly stated he was going to “strike out the Indian”, Sock rather slapped the pitcher’s first curveball over the fence....

  When trying to find out the proportions of modern measurements to ancient ones, scholars have had trouble. Many different sets of weights unearth by archeologist marked as the same weight all weight differently.  Some of this might be chalked up to ancient man not having the exacting technology to be completely uniform but mostly it is because many ancient people carried around different weight sets. One for receive and one for paying. That way you could always get a little bit over on the person. You measure differently on how it could better you.   God hated it. At least seven different times in the Old Testament he condemns it (Lev 19:35, Deu. 25:13-15, Pro. 11:1; 16:11; 20:23, Amo. 8:4-7, Mic. 6:10-11). It is Differing weights and differing measures, Both of them are abominable to the LORD .   Proverbs 20:10 called an abomination, term used for the vilest of offenses. It is a cursed practice, one that God is squarely against.  Then and to...

  Years ago Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed his dream to live in a world where people are not judged by the color of our skin but the content of our character.  I’m not sure if we live in that world today, but I’ve noticed one thing about it, we'd rather not be judged by either.   The absurdity and ignorance of judging by something as superficial of one’s skin is something we should strive to eliminate. However, there is a reason to not want to abandon judgment of ourselves altogether.   When Jesus told us not to judge, it was the judgment with impure thought and motive. The hypocritical, unfair, bias, judging that is all too common in our world today. We are to judge rather as he says in John 7:24 " Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment ."  Still, folks wish we didn’t have to be judged even by that standard.   We don’t like it when our sin is pointed out.  We don’t like to be shown the inco...

 Even though it is a long way away, many folks are talking about the upcoming presidential elections. Candidates are been considered for many different factors, their platform, their experience, their personality. However, one trait that many don't consider seems to have an effect of a candidate chances to win: their height.   Some political observers have noted that taller candidates have won 58 percent of US presidential elections between 1789 and 2008 . Now are we so shallow we think size matter in presidential success? Probably not consciously, but human have a way of making quick judgements based on physical features. We are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but publisher know that people do just that.  We don't have time to read the whole book so we glance at the surface hoping to gain some quick insight.   But does it work?   Let’s consider three rulers found in the books of Samuel: 1 st Samuel 9:2 ...

    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 ret...

   I often hear today people exclaim that Christians are too judgmental in regard to moral issues:  Why can't they just let people do what they want and stay out of others business.  What gives them the right to tell others what to do!.     While it is true faithful followers of Jesus are not to be busybodies in other affairs, those that think it is unchristian to take a moral stand on issue forget a truth we are told in Proverbs 8:13.     It says, “ The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate .” We should hate evil because God hates evil .      An attitude that thinks "I can do whatever I want , whenever I want",  it an arrogant way to approach God. Rather than taking a poll, or having a vote on what people think should be right and wrong, it is much better to examine the word of God to see just what is right and wrong. To stand a...

    As a minister I find myself going into a lot of hospitals and nursing homes.  Something I have noticed that is fairly common to most every place is the crowd of nurses and staff outside the entrances smoking.  Even if I don’t see anyone, I often can catch a whiff of the stench left behind.  Every time I shake my head and think surely those that are in the health care business know of the health dangers of smoking!  Why would someone that works among the ill every day and probably has seen firsthand the effects smoking, choose to engage in such an unhealthy practice?     It’s not just among health care workers and smoking that you see these strange contradictions.  Ministers that preach morality are often caught in lurid affairs.  Police officers that have worked the wrecks of people killed because of their speeding that think nothing of flying down the highway.  Lifeguards that warn swimmers to stay se...