Judge Not

"Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eyes, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eyes." - Matthew 7:1-5 (NASB)

Otto Fong, used this principle to counter those who decided to 'judge' him because he openly shared that he is a gay. I admire his "courage" and "determination" to be who he is - he only asked for acceptance. His disclosure risked him losing his job as a teacher in the prestigious Raffles Institution whom he had been with for 8 years and also unwanted multiples of criticisms darted towards his sexual preference. On one hand I feel sympathetic but on the other hand I am ruled by the 'law'. Yes, we need to love him and not judge him but... the letter of the law demands...

When the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1 - 11) was dragged by the Scribes and the Pharisees to see Jesus, used the law and told Jesus that this woman had to be stone for her act, Jesus kept quiet and only wrote on the ground. The accusers did not give up and pressed Jesus for an answer. Jesus broke the silence and said to all present "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." - wow. I have always been awed by this profound statement of Jesus. The accusers left, one by one. No response of repentance from her. Only a reply to Jesus when asked where were her accusers, she simply said, "No one". Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more."

Jesus was consistent with his teachings on "Judging". Even though he had the absolute right to do so and the woman was undoubtedly guilty, yet He withheld that right. The one thing he told the woman was to go and sin no more - her past no longer mattered, it was how she was going to live her life after the episode. Jesus was always gentle with those who were condemned and unrighteous but hard on those who thought of themselves righteous and dignified - those who had the logs in their own eyes.

As human beings we put values to things. We categorize them. If someone lied, it's not as bad as someone who committed adultery. Murder will certainly make headline news while bitterness, hate and anger remain in the closet. That is how we have been conditioned to think, Christians are not spared including myself. We categorize sin and put them on a scale from Big Sin to Small Sin. Big sin = murder, adultery, stealing, cheating... Small sin = lying, gossiping, hate, murmuring against a fellow brother, ... So for Mr Otto Fong, he has committed a big sin but our ocassional sin(s) -pardonable. I wonder what would Jesus say to Mr Fong.

There is such a thin line between Judging and Discerning. Ok, maybe not so thin a line because Judging is not justified but discerning is? I feel personally that judging belongs to God and that's His prerogative. Our duty is to discern (as we read God's word more and more, understand it more and more, reflect more and more, pray more and more) so that we can distinguish what is God's will and what is not. I do not think that judging and discerning are synonymous and they are as distinct as a cow is to a buffalo.

Judging is what one person does to another person based on what he/she thinks (result of studying the word of God) is right or wrong. Discernment is what takes place within a person as he/she seeks the Lord (result of studying the word of God and prayer) on the appropriate decision to make, behaviour to adopt, mindset to change etc... Discernment can also be a gift in the area of distinguishing between spirits so that the Christian would know how to pray against it as directed by the Holy Spirit.

We may discern about situations but we may not have to judge the situation. However, there are times (not everytime) we will have to make a judgement i.e. conclusion after discernment. It's very complicated to me and I am still mulling over it. One thing for sure, the Sermon on the Mount was addressed to everyone regardless of rank and file - Religious people and the common folks. I can't practise one and obliterate the other. Jesus says, "look into my own log first before I spot the speck in others."

Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world (age) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove (to test, examine, prove, scrutinise [to see whether a thing is genuine or not], as metals to recognise as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy) what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

That's all for hair-splitting today. :)