JUDGEMENT VS. COMPASSIONWHAT DOES YOUR WITNESS SAY ABOUT YOU?

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1 (NIV) Youre in the middle of praise and worship, hands lifted, tears flowing,the sanctuary is so saturated with Gods presence that you almost see seraphim and cherubim hovering over you. In walks a homeless person, clothes tattered and reeking of yesterdays trash, or one of your fellow church goers reeking of alcohol from last nights party. Out of your peripheral you watch them walk down the aisle and down your row, to the only available seat, next to you! It is bad enough that the young partier is late and smells like liquor, but he is also wearing those skinny jeans, that you hate, hanging off of his rear-end. Your undying professions of love to God are interrupted and you shake your head and think, Surely he must own ONE pair of slacks. Would you be justified if you got up and moved? Absolutely. After all, you need a word from God, so why should you be distracted and miss what He wants to say to you. But could you miss your opportunity to dispel the preconceived philosophy of your ill scented neighbor that most church folk are judgmental, arrogant and rude? Absolutely. People from all walks of life wander into church on any given Sunday. This is especially common in urban, inner city areas, where the traditional Sunday dress attire is no longer common practice. Granted some, particularly our homeless brothers and sisters, are simply looking for a break from the summer heat or the winter cold, but there are some who are truly expecting a visitation from the Lord. Its important that we do not bring hindrance to that visitation to appease our own comfort. All too often do we attribute these subtle offenses to, They should know better. While there is some truth there, we must not forget our responsibility to demonstrate the love of Christ, even when it inconveniences us, and to continue the Great Commandment to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. All the world stretches beyond the confines of our neighborhood, or those family members0 we like to impress by how spiritual we are, but rather into the lives of those that may not be so easily approachablewhether its because of odor, mental illness, not so traditional attire, or an alternate religion or lifestyle . Best selling author and world renowned evangelist, Joyce Meyer frequently ministers in India, and has shared her experiences of how many of the people whom she encounters havent showered in weeks, sometimes months. If she shunned those people away and placed her comfort before displaying the love of Christ, not only her ministry, but her personal witness would be affected, and probably not in a positive light. John 7:24 (NIV) commands, Stop judging by appearances, and make a right judgment. Its in these moments that we have a decision to make, and usually not a whole lot of time to make it. Putting on the love of God will help us to dig deep into our spirit man, subdue the flesh man, and remember that its not about us and our comfort but advancing the Kingdom and reaching the lost at all costs. We must put on Christs love because its not something that we always feel like doing. Its choosing to do what is right despite our feelings. Dealing with people who dont look like us, smell like us, or dress like us, are just a few of the ways where Christians tend to choose criticism and judgment over empathy and compassion. The Apostle

Paul spoke to the church at Ephesus regarding displaying compassion towards one another. In Ephesians 4:32 (NIV) he states, Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Websters dictionary defines compassion as sympathetic consciousness of others distress, together with a desire to alleviate it. This is not to suggest that we should be lenient on sin and make excuses to allow it. The Bible, of course, is not shy in exposing Gods disdain for sin, and our leaders are certainly held accountable for making sure their congregants are informed of His disdain. There is, however, a very thin line between compassion and judgment that we as the body of Christ must exercise prudence to not cross. Remembering that sin punishes itself will free us from the duty of offering our unsolicited opinions and liberate us from the need to remind the sinner of his transgressions. Instead, we should desire to display the kind of compassion that Webster defines. John 8:1-11 tells the familiar story of the woman caught in adultery and the Pharisees suggesting stoning as a just punishment. During the Bible days, this would have been an appropriate punishment, and no one would have interjected. But Praise God He does not give us what we deserve! Jesus disrupts the law and tells them that whoever is without sin, let him cast the first stone. Sometimes, being caught, exposed, and embarrassed is the punishment, and can very well be used as the catalyst to bring someone into a place of repentance. If the Almighty, All-Knowing, All-Loving God, who grants endless mercies, can deem it okay to excuse and forgive, why is the Body of Christ so critical of its brothers and sisters and/or sinners who are not as spiritually mature or who have not yet found Christ? 1 Corinthians 1:27 (KJV) says, But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. In retrospect, He will handpick what is thought to be useless and hopeless just to make a fool of the world. When there is only a mentioning of the sinners shortcomings without the coupling of the desire to help alleviate the distress that encourages sin, the church becomes satisfied with its Hell, Fire and Brimstone messages, and the world becomes content in quoting and branding their bodies with the scripture, Only God Can Judge Me. While this is unequivocally true, the enemy is able to deceive the world with this scripture because without accepting Christ, that judgment will never be a favorable one. He then in turn deceives the Christian by keeping them enthralled in the religious rhetoric of whats right and whats wrong; meanwhile, souls are being lost because the focus is on the sin rather than humbly introducing the God that cleanses and forgives the sinner. When the believer first comes into the knowledge of Christ and is filled with the Holy Spirit, there is a voracious inferno that burns on the inside. We want to tell everyone we knowand even some strangersabout our new relationship. During this season, we are on fire for God, He will bless us in unusual ways and will even perform miracles all to assure His new babe of his obdurate kindness and love towards us. The not so pleasant side of this newfound relationship is the family and friends who are still lost. We usually have to abandon these relationships sometimes for a season, sometimes permanently, to fulfill the call that God has on our lives. More times than not, this does not go over very well with the ones that are dearest to us. It is important to not make those left behind, so to speak, feel inferior or sub par, but to earnestly explain what is happening on the inside of us. Someone getting hurt is inevitable, most likely on both

ends. Keeping anothers feelings in mind while not forfeiting the task at hand to sever the relationship can be a huge a stressor for the believer. 1 Peter 4:8 (NLT) says, Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. We should be cognizant not to add fuel to the fire by making our disassociation their fault. I cant hang out with you anymore because you. It should not be about them and their shortcomings, but about you and the convictions of your heart to turn from sin. One trick of the enemy is to get the believer to confess a lifestyle that his behavior does not reflect. This tarnishes our witness and may cause our worldly cohorts to think that we and our religion are a fluke. It is the unswerving practice of modeling the process of dying to self that will cause others to take what we say seriously. For example, when hiring a personal trainer, you typically would not select someone who is grossly out of shape themselves, but someone who not only talks a good game but who also has the body to emulate the results of practicing a healthy lifestyle. After dying to sin, the believer should start to see fruit in our lives, and desire to know more about the Christ that we profess. Judgment is usually a bi product of pride, and is unfortunately a learned behavior. Being appreciative of all that God is and has done, constantly aware and grateful of battles won, as well as his grace unto us, will keep us free from the generational curses that have long enslaved our minds. When we learn to not focus on the flaws of others, but on making sure we are living a life pleasing to God, we will discover that in itself requires full time attention and that we really dont have time to dwell on another persons hindrances. In the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his disciples on the transcendence of judging one another. Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged and what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brothers eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye: Or how wil thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite! First cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt see clearly to cast out the mote out of they brothers eye? (Matthew 7:1-5 KJV)