Pentecost 94 Getting It Right

[HKHaugan]

Pentecost 94 Getting It Right

There is so much that can be said about judgment. The heart of judgment is the heart out of which it comes. It is the condition of the heart that determines the nature of judgment, the experience of judgment and the result of judgment.

Let’s look first at the nature of judgment. Judgment is built into each of us. No matter what we do, every situation demands a choice. We ponder it with our mind, process it attitudinally in our hearts and then trust to respond by acting out what we believe is the best alternative. Judgment is a constant and ongoing process that involves every moment of our being. It is built into us, into everyone and dominates every interaction from relationships to our involvement in the whole of our world experience. There is nothing that does not require judgment.

Secondly, our experience of judgment is in its overwhelming by moment-by-moment demand. We get up in the morning. What do I do first? Shall I do this or that? How does my awaking affect the rest of the household? What lies ahead for the day? How do I act when I arrive where I’m going? What’s left over from yesterday that needs attention? What about this weekend? Who do I call first? Am I over my budget? Is the car working OK? Oh yes, how I let my world get the first priority and not letting the Spirit in first, am I prayed up? Did I check the Scriptures? We don’t have to get into everything but what we do need to see is that the demand for judgment is always there.

Thirdly, what are the results of your judgments in general? Is there any relief, any hopes of finally saying my judgments are right? Or is there that nagging sense of not being sure, of thinking that you could do or should have done better?

Jesus shows us that there are really only two bases for judgment, the world and the Word. In John 7:14-24 Jesus amazes the Jews with His teaching in the courts of the Temple. People are quick to judge Him so He starts with their minds and shifts their thoughts to circumcision done on the Sabbath. “Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment (Jn.7:23-24)." Note how Jesus gets to the attitude conditioning of the heart. He aims not simply for the mind but for the heart because what is in the heart determines thinking, judgment and its resulting behavior.

The world’s standards of judgment are founded in hearts and institutional forms that were arrived at by fear, pride and the need to conform to whoever has the power. No matter where you go there is always something that demands you be right according to standards that change from one person to another and one place to another. Right is elusive and no one ever measures up. At work you are judged by a set of standards that if not met mean loss of job and financial security. In society the standards by what ever group you belong to are your social judges. In a family you are conditioned by the inconsistent values and behavior of parents. In self you try and find the balance to keep order and satisfy the requirements of the world around you as your see them. In the world you are surrounded by an atmosphere of fragmented judgment, its pressure and the agony of feeling alone within it.

God has one standard of judgment, His Son Jesus revealed in His Word. It is singular, secure, plain, never changing and starts with Him. Judgment is personal, spiritual, alive and true. It is always a relational experience wherein the hand of God is His Holy Spirit who reveals, inspires and employs the Scripture, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb.4:12).”

The Cross was the one right judgment where Jesus bore the fragmented judgments of the world and the penalty they demanded. He was the loving sacrifice that answered God’s wrath and judgment of sin and evil. He established that there is only one judgment that really counts and that is His. His judgment has been declared and by faith we are found right before Him. He was right for all of us when we couldn’t be right for ourselves. He was true when we couldn’t be truthful, holy when we thought only of ourselves, spiritual in thought when we were motivated solely by what we could see, interpersonal when we were alone and humble in obedience when fear drove us to be in control apart from God.

Again, consider the John 7 passage in the Message Bible, “Moses prescribed circumcision—originally it came not from Moses but from his ancestors—and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one part of his body, even if it's the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one item in the Law of Moses. So why are you upset with me because I made a man's whole body well on the Sabbath? Don't be nitpickers; use your head—and heart!—to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right."

Stay tuned………