Month: September 2014

Do You Judge-Mentally?

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wiseoneDo you judge-mentally or are you judgmental? One is a well-reasoned response to a given situation, while the other is an irrational reaction. One investigates the specifics seeking the best outcome for everyone involved, while the other is condescending and self-serving in its handling of the facts.

A judgmental person thrives by focusing on your weaknesses and failures. As long as he can do that, he doesn’t have to think of his own puny performance and fatal flaws.

Paul challenged the church at Galatia to address this issue: “If a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too. Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Let each one examine his own work. Then he can take pride in himself and not compare himself with someone else. For each one will carry his own load . . . whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith (Galatians 6).”

Here are some questions for you to consider:
• When someone stumbles and falls, do I reject him or restore him?
• Am I reaching out with a “spirit of gentleness?”
• Do I have a “holier-than-thou attitude?”
• Have I examined my life to deal with my own shortcomings?
• Do I look for the opportunity to help carry the burden of the heavy-hearted?
• Do I try to do good to all (Good Samaritan)?

Your answers to these questions may help you determine if you judge-mentally or if you are judgmental; the first one will try to pick-up the person who is down, but the second one will  keep pulling them apart and putting them down. Which of the two are you?

Are You On The Edge?

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honingrodEarlier this year, I read the sad story of a promising young man named Logan J. Stiner. Even though he was a healthy 18-year-old and a state-qualified wrestler, Stiner died in May from an overdose of powdered caffeine. The corner, Dr. Steven Evans, said he doubted that Stiner had any idea he had consumed a toxic amount of the powder.

Stiner, a national honor society member who planned to attend Toledo University, may have been influenced by the antics and influence of some of the elite athletes among the ranks of the pros. The NFL has already suspended more than 20 players this year for violating the league’s policy on the use of performance-enhancing drugs and illegal substances. They were trying to get an edge by hedging the rules.

Paul used the context of athletic competition to call Christians to a lifestyle of self-discipline: “You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself ( The Message ~I Corinthians 9).”

You can summarize what Paul said in five words: “No sloppy living for me.” It’s hard to get the winning edge when you’re dulled by sloppy living.

I used to make knives, and I know a sharp knife can lose its edge suddenly or slowly. When it is abruptly dulled, you usually know why because you have abused and misused your knife.

When your knife slowly uses its edge, you may not be aware of the dullness that has slowly crept in. Solomon spoke of this in Proverbs 27:17: I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom. I saw that thorns had grown up all over it, the ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down. When I saw this, I gave careful consideration to it; I received instruction from what I saw: “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax, and your poverty will come like a bandit, and your need like an armed robber.”

This type of dullness can be the result of not taking the proper care of your knife or it can be the influence of the wrong kind of friends. The power of friendship is a principle of the Proverbs: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17).”

What kind of a friend are you? Are you the iron that hones the life of your friends and posse, so their lives are more polished and glossy? Another key question is: How do your friends influence you?