Empathy is the desire to be sure to understand before we judge another person. There are many things people judge that are not their business and have nothing to do with sin.
Jealousy is a big factor in how some people judge others. If there is a desire to view someone as less than, others may jealously judge them as inferior or worthy of disrespect.
We see this all the time in relationships. Those who are jealous of someone often disregard the talents or accomplishments of their target, even concocting things that are not true in an effort to look down their noses at others.
We must guard ourselves against judging things that are not our business, remembering that perhaps there is an ulterior motive behind our judging.
God never forbade judging, but He did instruct us to "judge righteously", that is according to His Word and with plenty of evidence.
I remember when Nathan rebuked David in a round about way, eliciting a response from him to get him to think about his own sin. Nathan used an story about someone, describing how a man stole a lamb from someone else. David was irate until he realized the story was about himself.
How many times have you tried to explain the sin of a friend or relative only being met by rage and anger that we exposed it?
In using the story about the lamb another man stole, he was able to get David to listen to him, then when it was revealed that he was that man, David became broken and repentant.
In our world today that same tactic would be used only to be met with "you shouldn't judge that man", or the hearer would know it was about them and rage to deflect guilt.
David was a man after God's own heart, he sinned against God. The evidence that he belonged to God was his brokenness over the sin itself.
Now days we can expose sin all day long to correct or resolve a relationship problem and it will be met with rage, intimidation and mocking to devalue the one who is begging to be relieved of the pain of the constant harm done against them.
I am convinced that those who rage when confronted with their sin against us could not possibly know Christ. When Christ lives in us He convicts us of our sin, often before anyone reveals it.
We are living in a world that denies and even defends the sin they do against others. They mock those who are attempting to clean up a relationship problem. Relationships cannot be restored when the offender refuse to see that they have sinned against someone.
In a world where all they have to do is "delete" us, or "block" us, there is no felt need to fix what is broken, they simply throw it away. In my own case, I have attempted many times to speak to those who continue to demean, mock and lie against me, always being met with rage and refusal to hear anything at all if it is going to show their sin against me.
Now I have had to block and delete people who have refused to change their actions toward me, their attitude remains contemptuous, displaying covert rudeness every time we are together, therefore I have reconciled myself to the fact that these relationships cannot continue, they have no purpose, there is no growing or changing, so they must be removed from my life.
When we have encountered 50 years of spiritual and emotional abuse from those who say they are Christians but have no conscience over the way they treat us, then we have no choice except to delete and block them.
Godly men and women hate their sin, they are convicted when the Holy Spirit shows them within themselves before they are even exposed. However, if they sin without realizing it, they accept a correction or rebuke from those they have harmed and quickly openly show remorse to be reconciled. Godly men and women are not concerned about the delivery, they care only about the truth of it. Those who are rebellious, refusing to admit their sin will almost always respond by attacking our delivery, even if the delivery was mild but truthful.
2 Samuel 12:1-15
Nathan Rebukes David
12 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said,
“There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
2 “The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.
3 “But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb
Which he bought and nourished;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,
And was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man,
And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd,
To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him;
Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die.
6 He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”
7 Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8 I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!
9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.
12 Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.
14 However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.”
15 So Nathan went to his house."
David repented, but lived for the rest of his life with the consequences of his deeds.
If we are trusting in our own or other human devices then we are not hearing from the Holy Spirit. God wants us to trust Him for salvation and everything else after that too.
John 14:1-31
1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
4 And you know the way where I am going.”
5 Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
8 Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.
11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.
12 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
13 Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Role of the Spirit
16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
19 After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.
20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
28 You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
29 Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.
30 I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;
31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here."
Many of our church traditions have nothing to do with Christianity, they originated from paganism, and yet it is nearly impossible to convince those who love these holidays and have been practicing them all their lives.
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