holier–than–thou
Simple Definition of holier–than–thou (having or showing the annoying attitude of people who believe that they are morally better than other people)
Matthew 7:1-5 – “Judge not, that you not be judged.” One of the biggest objections to
Christians and the church today is that we are too judgmental. On the one hand,
the world condemns us for our judgment against sin but, on the other hand, God
requires that we live holy lives. Our culture would prefer no moral absolutes
or code of conduct. Jesus calls us to righteousness. “Do
not judge, that you be not judged.”
The reality of
the world’s critique against our judgmentalism is that there is an element of
truth to it. Like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, we are prone to condemn
the very things that we ourselves participate in. We all know about fallen
preachers. There are so-called Christian politicians who support morally-based
public policy like traditional marriage and a pro-life agenda. But when it is
revealed that they are having affairs or other moral failures, they completely
discredit the moral stands they have taken. If they have claimed to be a
follower of Jesus, the world mocks us even more. So what are we
to do? Eliminate all moral discernment so that the world can be free from a
burdened conscience? Of course not! Jesus said for us to “let our light shine before men.”
“Judge not, that you be not judged". Why do you see the problems, the
storms, the mistakes in some one else's life, but do not notice the ones in
yours? You hypocrite, first look at your own life, and then you will see
clearly to help and love, NOT JUDGE!
Only my
opinion as I write this today and that’s What Jesus is not saying…
Jesus shifts
his focus to relationships. From the beginning his teaching on individual
character has penetrated beneath the simple veneer of performance, like that of
the religious leaders, but Jesus has cut right to the heart. Having dealt with
the character of a Jesus-follower, he addresses the essential matters of living
together with other people. Christianity, after all, is a “team sport” – a
community affair.
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” The question that we have to answer
is “what is the meaning of ‘judge not.’” When confronted with their sin, some
Christians get very defensive saying, “that’s none of your business” or “who
are you to judge me?” You’ve probably heard it before. But the responsibility
for moral accountability to each other remains. Jesus always tells us to help our brother who
lives in sin – after we’ve removed the sin from ourselves, of course.
What Jesus
is saying, in my opinion is this: to judge means to separate, to select, to choose. You’re making
a decision about what is right and what is wrong. This is where we struggle a
lot because we do try and maintain a high moral standard. But we tend to be
harsh with others in our assessment of their behavior! Instead we should be
addressing the heart of the matter. A judgmental person is a fault-finder who is
negative and destructive. He or she loves to see people fail. The judgmental
person assumes the worst possible motives in others. They do not know grace, but can sure talk about it! They extend no mercy in their own perceived moral superiority.
Most of the
time, we are too well-mannered to blatantly bring our judgmental charges to the
other person. We’d rather destroy them and their reputation through gossip. We
make our self-righteous judgments against someone and then we begin the
whispering campaign. This is hurtful,
this is bullying and the actions are without grace! People you are going to
reap what you sow, “…for with the judgment you pronounce, you
will be judged.”
We've all been
judgmental. We have shown no mercy or grace
for the adulterer, the mom who leaves her children, the divorcee, the addict,
the thief, etc.,etc., etc., No mercy.
Do not be
judgmental. “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, with the
measure you use it will be measured to you.” We have an ugly tendency to
minimize our own faults and exaggerate those of others. A judgmental
person sees all others as responsible! Since when did "You" my
friend, become master of all! The
Apostle Paul rebuked such an attitude: “Who are you to pass judgment on the
servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls”
(Romans 14:4).
You see, when
we take such an attitude toward other people, are you telling God he can't do
his job? He is the only rightful Judge.
I saw it on FaceBook this week: “Never look down on anyone; only God sits
that high.”
Virtually
everything that came out of his Jesus mouth said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” The root of so many of our faults
lies in our failure to comprehend our own mistakes before God.
Jesus is in
the heart surgery business. He is probing to the depths of our souls. Surface
religion won’t do for the disciple of Jesus. He won’t allow us glory in our
own self-righteousness that will ultimately lead to final condemnation by the "One"
true Judge. Jesus requires authenticity – rather than empty hypocrisy. No game
playing with God and with other people. My friends, if you want our church
(meaning our faith) to be relevant and make an impact on young people and young
adults, then put away the masks. You don’t have to be perfect…because you’re
not. Just be real. This is the Good News that he came to bring. We don’t have
to play games with God or with other people. We are free to be our imperfect
selves because of the grace that God has given to us. And we are called to
minister, and love those who are struggling.
Those who
follow Jesus are to be radically different from the world. People of the world
are always scratching and clawing and stepping on others in order to survive
and get ahead. We don’t need to do that because God has already given us his
grace and mercy in spite of our failures. We can freely give mercy to others
because we have experienced it ourselves. We’ve been set free to give mercy and
grace to other people. You see, Jesus’ teaching here against being judgmental
is not so that we would turn a blind eye, but rather that we would be generous
to others.
God doesn’t
often speak to me in dreams and this example might seem a bit silly to you. But
this week, as I was faced with this "Holier than thou" attitude, I
had a strange dream where I was surrounded by
my contestants. The setting itself wasn’t so strange because it's what I do; I’ve always believed and taught that if you are not getting what you want from your finalists it is my fault as their executive director. In my dream, I was really frustrated that they weren't watching me. (A common frustration for directors.) In fact, the teens were peeling paint off the back wall while the miss girls were rehearsing talent. Then I realized what the problem was. I had my head down – stuck in my phone. Here’s the cardinal rule: you can’t insist that the people watch you when you are not watching them. Be engaged with the sinner and love them like you want to be loved!
my contestants. The setting itself wasn’t so strange because it's what I do; I’ve always believed and taught that if you are not getting what you want from your finalists it is my fault as their executive director. In my dream, I was really frustrated that they weren't watching me. (A common frustration for directors.) In fact, the teens were peeling paint off the back wall while the miss girls were rehearsing talent. Then I realized what the problem was. I had my head down – stuck in my phone. Here’s the cardinal rule: you can’t insist that the people watch you when you are not watching them. Be engaged with the sinner and love them like you want to be loved!
No one’s
perfect. That’s the point. We all still have our struggles with sin. God has
given us grace. He continually extends his hand of mercy to us when we fail. When
we consider the faults of another Christian, we should look to ourselves first
and see where we have failed. If we are honest with ourselves, we will find a
heart of compassion and mercy with our brother or sister in need. As a church,
we need this kind of attitude in our thinking about other churches and the people who fill the seats. It is all
too tempting to be condescending when we think about others and their mistakes
and shortcomings!
Most of you
probably know the story of the woman caught in adultery from John 8. She was
caught in the very act and dragged in condemnation before Jesus in the city
square. Her self-righteous accusers stood, stones in hand, ready to administer
capital punishment for her sins. Jesus quietly knelt down and wrote something
in the dirt. I sure wish I knew what it was! And then he stood up, looked her
accusers in the eye and said, “He who is without sin, let him cast the first
stone.” They all walked away in shame. And in the greatest act of mercy, Jesus,
the only one without sin, refused to condemn her but released her from her
guilt and shame with the admonition to go and sin no more.
We are to be transformed
as Jesus-followers. We are to become more and more like him, in our homes, in
our work, in our church, in our community, and to each other. Let’s help those
who are struggling with their sins. But let us always be a generous people of
grace and mercy. And then the world will
stop complaining about our judgmental selves and be happy with our grace and
mercy that flows through us from the limitless love of Christ.
We are not
called to live in isolation from each other. The Christian’s creed is not “live
and let live.” No. We are our brother’s keeper. We are privileged and called to
help each other in our journey. And when a brother or sister falls into sin or
moral difficulty, we are to help restore and give grace! Have you put out your hand?
