Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. [Matthew 7:1-2 (ESV]
In a classic Peanuts comic (drawn by Charles Schulz), the meek Linus asked his bossy big sister Lucy, “Why are you always so anxious to criticize me?” She answered, “I just think I have a knack for seeing other peoples’ faults.” When Linus queried, “What about your own faults?” Lucy replied, “I have a knack for overlooking them.” Along with her over-sized ego, Lucy has what psychologists call “fundamental attribution error.”
Fundamental attribution error is the tendency people have of attributing other people’s actions to their character flaws while ignoring any impact the situation might have on their behavior. Rather than considering how circumstances can affect a person’s actions, we tend to think people do bad, rude, thoughtless, or foolish things simply because they’re bad, rude, thoughtless, or foolish people. On the other hand, although we attribute other people’s faulty behavior to shortcomings in their character, we typically attribute our failings to the challenges of our situation.
It’s not just Lucy who makes this error! When someone cuts us off, forgets something, or has a fit of pique, they’re a jerk, inconsiderate, or unpleasant but, when we do the same things, we excuse or defend our behavior because we were rushed, over-committed, or under stress! Flawed beings that we are, even the best of us manage to screw up now and then—let’s show some grace when others do! “Stop having a measuring rod for other people,” said Oswald Chambers before adding, “There is always one fact more in every man’s case about which we know nothing.”
When Jesus referred to measuring people, He was borrowing from a Jewish proverb usually applied to the markets: “It is measured to one according to the measure by which one measures.” In Jesus’ day, a Roman inspector of measurement and weights (an agoranomos) would be stationed in the marketplace. His measuring table and scale weights were used to calibrate vessels and balances to a standard measure. Rather than an agoranomos keeping watch on the fairness of our weights and measures, we have God. If we measure ourselves in yards, we can’t measure others in fractions of an inch and, if we round up when appraising ourselves, we can’t round down when appraising others! If we use a short measure or light weight when judging others, God will use that same short measure or balance when judging us! The standard we use for others is the standard God will use for us and I suspect the way we extend grace to others may affect the amount of grace He extends to us, as well.
There is a Chinese proverb that says, “Deal with the faults of others as gently as your own.” Rather than dealing with our faults, however, like Linus’ big sister Lucy, we have an uncanny knack for overlooking them completely. Jesus, however, tells us to deal with our own faults before we begin to deal with anyone else’s. Let us remember that the first principle of judgment is to start with the logs in our eyes before concerning ourselves with anyone else’s specks!
It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own. You can‘t clear your own fields while you’re counting the rocks on your neighbor’s farm. [Cicero]
Since we both attended liturgical churches as girls, my friend and I were trying to recall the terms for the various parts of a traditional church building. We knew the foyer is called the narthex and the congregation sits the church’s nave. We also knew the altar rail usually separated the nave from the chancel in the front. It’s from the chancel that the service is conducted and where the altar, pulpit, and lectern are located. We even recalled that the sacristy was the room holding Communion supplies and linens. Since we were worshipping in a park that morning, my friend asked the location of our sanctuary. In historic usage, sanctuary and chancel were synonymous but, in modern usage, a sanctuary consists of the entire worship space of a church. With no building, we had no narthex, nave, or chancel but we did have a worship space; our sanctuary was a gazebo in a county park.
The Israelites had just crossed the Jordan River and were preparing to conquer Canaan when Joshua came upon an armed man. Joshua was a stranger in a foreign land and, as Israel’s general, he may have been scrutinizing Jericho’s defenses to determine his plan of attack. I wonder if Joshua brandished his sword (while shaking in his sandals) as he queried, “Friend or foe?” The man, however, was neither ally nor adversary. Identifying himself as the commander-in-chief of the Lord’s army, his loyalty was to neither side. His allegiance was to God and the only side he was on was God’s! God wasn’t on Israel’s side any more than He was on Canaan’s. Israel, however, was on God’s side because their conquest of Jericho was part of His master plan of redemption. It was because they were on God’s side that the fortified city’s walls collapsed.
I lost my first father the same year I gained my second one. I only had my birth father for twenty years, but I was blessed to have my father-in-law for thirty-seven! Dad J lived his life well—with vigor, enthusiasm, joy, laughter, and a whole lot of love. Compassionate and generous, responsible and helpful, good-humored and resourceful, he was a man of faith and integrity (with a large dose of mischief on the side). The Bible might describe him as a man after God’s heart.
When reciting the creeds as a youngster, I wondered why I said we believed in the catholic church when we didn’t go to one. My family didn’t attend the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our priest was married, and our service was in English, so why did we attest faith in the catholic church? It wasn’t until my confirmation class that I clearly understood that the creeds weren’t referring to the Roman Catholic church. Coming from the Greek katholikos (derived from kath holos, meaning “throughout the whole”), catholic simply means universal! The term originates from the first century and the words of Ignatius of Antioch: “Where Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church.”
Can worship be fun? In various translations, Hebrews 12:28 tells us to worship God with reverence and awe, honor and respect, or deep reverence. No where is there any mention of fun. In fact, except for the somewhat cynical and world-weary words directing us to eat, drink, and be merry in Ecclesiastes 8:15 Scripture uses the word “fun” in a negative way—that of “making fun” of someone. Hagar was sent away after she and Ishmael made fun of Isaac, Delilah accused Sampson of making fun of her with his lies, and the fertile Peninnah made fun of Hannah because of her barrenness. So, if, by “fun,” we mean mere amusement (especially at another’s expense), it doesn’t seem that fun and worship go hand in hand. On the other hand, if by “fun” we mean something deeper than light-hearted entertainment or diversion, perhaps it does.
Devotions of the Heart 