 |
 |
||||||
What is gossip? Gossip has been
defined as personal or sensational facts that are shared about another
person. It is usually hurtful and designed to damage the reputation of
another person. The Greek word translated as “gossip” refers
to “harmful information about a person.” Sometimes it can
refer to “harmful information that is not widely known.” Sometimes
gossip occurs because a person enjoys talking about the sensational,
and so does not stop to think about the impact of what the words. Anger
or hatred can also motivate gossip.
Sometimes when we are hurt, our judgment of the offending party is quick
and brutal. We are looking for faults, and we become easily offended.
Have you ever rejoiced when something bad happened to that party? Recently,
I read Proverbs 24:17-18 and discovered something that I had never noticed
before. I had read the passage before but never noticed an important
truth. Here is the passage,
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; or the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him. (NASB) Prov. 24:17-18 The passage is amazing. God warns us that if we rejoice because our
enemy is hurt, then He will withhold His judgment from that person. God
does not want us to be happy when others get hurt. God wants us to love
them and pray for them (Matt. 5:43-44). He does not want us to rejoice
when trouble falls on them.
Judge, Judge & Judge. Jesus’ next
statement causes us to stop and think.
Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. (NASB) Matt. 7:1-2 The actual Greek wording in the second verse is fun. The English word
misses Jesus’ play on words. The literal Greek reads as follows,
For with the judgment you are judging, you will be judged; and with the measurement you are measuring, you will be measured. Matt. 7:2 Notice that Jesus repeats the idea that the criteria we use to evaluate
others will be used to evaluate us. The same idea is repeated in Rom.
2:1-3.
The Greek word translated as “judge” or “judged” comes
from the root word “KRINO.” It means “to analyze,” or
"to evaluate.” That is, “judge” does not mean
to condemn another person. It refers to the evaluation of another person
or thing. So we must ask, does Jesus mean that we cannot evaluate other
people? Are we prohibited from evaluating the lives of other people?
Jesus answers our questions with three illustrations.
Carpenter’s Illustration. Jesus’ first
illustration is taken from a carpenter’s shop.
Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (NASB) Matt. 7:3-5 The Greek word translated as “speck” is KARPHIS. It refers
to a “splinter” or “speck,” a thin piece of wood
that might get stuck into one’s finger. Jesus was a carpenter and
this illustration would have been familiar to Him. If a splinter of wood
got into someone’s eye, such as could happen in a carpenter’s
shop, the person might need help in order to get it out. But it would
be a mistake if someone tried to help who had a log in his own eye that
prevented him from seeing clearly.
Did you notice Jesus’ words, “see clearly to take the speck
out”? That requires an evaluation of the person’ eye in order
to find the speck and remove it. It requires evaluation, or judgment.
Jesus’ illustration teaches that we can evaluate or make a judgment.
Jesus’ statement, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged” was
not a prohibition against making judgments about or evaluating people.
The key part of Jesus’ carpentry illustration is the logs in our
own eyes. In John 7:24, Jesus made this comment to a crowd,
Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. (NASB) John 7:24 Jesus taught them how to make good judgments. We are not to be like
Dr. H. A. Ironside who made a judgment according to appearance. Instead,
we are to judge with righteousness. That is, we are to judge fairly.
Nicodemus added this in John 7:51,
Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it? (NASB) John 7:51 That is, we must talk with the person to understand his perspective
- to obtain all of the facts. The lady at the airport should have spoken
to the man and obtained all of the facts. Then she would have discovered
the truth and had a different opinion about the man. The carpenter’s
illustration about the splinter and log tells us how to judge others.
We are to do it with God’s righteousness - with holy fairness.
The log in the eye represents personal sin.
Helping a Brother or Sister. In order to
remove the splinter of sin in another person’s life, we need the
log of sin removed from our own life first. Galatians 6:1 tells us that
a person needs to clean up his or her life before he/she can help someone
else who is in sin.
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Life & Heart of Jesus | |||||||
