JUDGING - PART 1

John 7:24  ''Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

Have you ever faltered by judging someone wrongly by his or her appearance, or because of what you have observed or heard about the one?

As human beings, we are limited in one way, or the other. For instance, we are not Omniscient, that is we do not know all things. We are also not Omnipresent, and therefore are not everywhere at the same time. Due to limitations as these, we can easily fall prey to misjudging others.

Because we do not know all things, we try to judge by what we observe, and by what we hear. I have come across many people who are quick to correct others by saying -'do not judge,' and the very next minute they are judging others unknowingly, and most times wrongly.

How can we prevent judging others wrongly? 

In 1 Kings 3:16 -28, When Solomon was faced with a rather delicate matter  to decide upon as a judge, he used the wisdom of God to discern what to do. God's wisdom exposed the liar in this matter, and allowed Solomon to determine who the real mother of the presented child was.

Similarly, the world is full of deception. We can easily be deceived in believing the wrong things, if we judge by mere appearances, or by hearsay. Both women who came before Solomon in 1 Kings 3:16 -28 were convincing enough, I presume, until the Wisdom of God made a clear distinction between who was the real mother of the child, and who was fake.

It is folly to follow our mere emotions and senses in this life. Our emotions and senses are limited, and can carry us in a wrong direction. We need God's wisdom to see through what is a sham, and and what is not. For the heart of man is desperately wicked -  "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve." Jeremiah 17: 9-10

God is the only just God who knows the human heart inside out, and is able to discern actual motives behind actions, and the real character often hidden beneath looks and appearances. In 1 Corinthians 2:14, we read - But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
From the above, we realise that although God is the only one that can help us discern what is genuine from what is fake, we cannot understand what He(God) tells us if we walk as mere men, for the things of God (Spiritual things) are spiritually discerned or understood .


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