There are different
words in scripture that are translated into the English word judgment. The main
theme of the New Testament is love and how can love have anything to do with
judgment? Well judgment can mean to
evaluate, like taking a personal inventory and judging ourselves correctly.
“But if we examine ourselves, we will not be examined by God and judged… 1 Corinthians
11:31 We are also called to judge the
church, those who are falling short so they can be corrected. “It isn’t my responsibility to judge
outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who
are sinning in these ways.” 1 Corinthians 5:12
No one wants to have others standing over their shoulder ready to
criticize their every move, but we appreciate those who care about us, know us,
and love us enough to be honest with us and protect us from harm. “Dear
brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by sin, you should gently
and humbly help that person back onto the right path.” Galatians 6:1 (loving correction vs criticism) So believers are to hold themselves
accountable and the church accountable in love but what about those outside the
church? This is where the prophets like
Jonah would warn of God’s judgment to those outside the faith because God
cares. “God did not send his son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.”
John 3:17 However, Jesus consistently warned of the coming judgment. Ezekiel spent five chapters writing about the
surrounding nations being held accountable by God and bringing this warning to
light. We all will be called to give
account. A failure to warn was a serious
moral failure. I have that in my ethical
code as a counselor, the obligation to warn of impending danger. Warning others is a part of caring and loving
them! In the first nine verses of Ezekiel 33 the imperative to warn is given
seven times. “But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will
die in their sins, but you will not be held responsible.” Ezekiel 33:9 Where is
the prophetic call today from those who judge themselves rightly, evaluate
their church rightly, and humbly and gently warn the powers that be that they
are accountable to God?
In the Old Testament
the kings or rulers were held accountable by the prophets. When David sinned in committing adultery with
Bathsheba and tried to cover it up by killing her husband it was Nathan the
prophet who called him into account. For
society to be healthy there has to be people who call us to be godly and
ethical. “If the church does not
recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without
moral or spiritual authority.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In the Old Testament sins were defined and also the
consequences of sin were defined. The
prophets prayed for forgiveness of sins and for the restoration of blessing-shalom
because of the curses-consequences that sin brought with it. (Daniel 9) The
predominate sins of these elections are arrogance and judgmentalism – “Do not
judge lest you be judged.” (Mathew 7:1-5) (Romans 2:1-3) The consequence is the
undermining of public trust in our leaders, creating fear, resentment and more
judgment. It seems to be nominated, you
have to be mean spirited and a pit bull ready to fight. (You can write in Thor
my pit bull for president!) Attack and defend, attack back and defend is the
political loop that is required to be a candidate. Reactive campaigns do not
allow for the complexity of issues to even be exposed; it becomes more about
who is right and who is wrong. Trading evil for evil is normalized and
celebrated rather than confessed and repented. Is this system evil and used by
the evil one to rob, steal and destroy? Has the system become too corrupt to
bring righteous and godly leaders into power?
Lord, we ask that You would forgive our nation for being
arrogant and judgmental. For becoming
entangled in judgment, resentments and fear.
Restore and bring Your peace to us as we turn to You as the answer to
our problems. You are our savior and the shepherd of our souls. Thank You, Lord, for being the one who rules
over the kingdoms of the earth and that You appoint whoever You want to rule. (Daniel
3-5) Please guide us in this election and
help us to trust You as we do our part.
Give us the wisdom to vote for that which is right, just and true and
help us not to be too distracted or enmeshed in the conflict. May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on
earth as it is in heaven!