Prayer Requests

Matthew 7:2
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Matthew 7:1-3

Perspective:
It has been a long-standing tradition within the Anglican Church that the month of August is the month of compassion. The late mother Theresa certainly knew a thing or two about compassion, she gave up her entire life to serve God and when she was given a cosy job as a nun teaching young people, she certainly had no idea that God wanted to use her beyond the confines of just teaching. In her many travels and tasks she undertook to feed and bury the unloved and forgotten poverty-stricken people of Calcutta (who often quite literally got left in the road to die there) she learnt many things. She shares with us her findings and one of the very striking things she concluded in an interview is that 'If you are too busy judging people, then you won't have time to love them'.

Anybody can shrug off a plea for help by pointing a finger and saying, you should have done this, or you should have done that, you've brought it on yourself and so suffer the consequences. Anybody can say it, but how painful it is to stand in the shoes of the one needing another chance, needing that forgiveness to help us grow into a better person. We've all been there, at some or other point in our lives.

Sure there are people who inspire one to much anger and feelings of resentment, psychologists say if we don't acknowledge this 'anger' that we are in 'denial'. If we furthermore are in 'denial' we open ourselves up to some or other form of psychosis, or madness just because we should 'deal with our anger and resentment and not bottle it up'.

It is Biblicaly recorded that anger is not wrong in itself. Jesus felt anger too. He felt anger when people traded inside the church instead of using the temple for its given purpose, worshipping God and creating a church of opportunity to love one's neighbour, and serve one another. He said though, that what you do in your anger, is where sin could creep in.

So we let rip when we are angry, we point fingers, condemn, cut off and deny the offender a place in our 'good books'. Dont even try to deny it, we all do it, we look at others even if we don't say it outright, our minds work overtime and often add 1 and 1 to get 3!

The inner discipline God calls us to is a higher state of consciousness by which we deny our anger to cloud our vision, where we look inside ourselves and see if we are white as snow, if we are well and truly blameless. When we are well and truly without any guilt, without any bad conscience about a past mistake, when we have never ever committed any sin nor stood in a position of needing forgiveness for a wrong we have done, then, we are given the right to 'cast the first stone'. If we are well and truly honest with ourselves, we will deny sin this place in our hearts and minds, by starting from a platform of love.

When we have a plank in our own eye, why then do we seek to remove the splinter from the eye of our neighbour. That is sheer folly. What the Bible says, which is echoed in the words of Mother Theresa, is that we should seek to love instead, we should make love our aim (instead of judgement).

Its not the healthy who need healing. Its not the blameless who needs forgiveness. We need to seek to include those who suffer rejection as a direct result of judgement. For those who have much to be forgiven, have more gratitude to show. We win souls for Christ and spread the good news not by a 'holier-than-thou' approach to life, but by seeing the pain of someone who is in need of a helping hand, a chance, forgiveness and acceptance. Anyone can love within the confines of the church and one's immediate family, but it takes discipline, the discipline of Agape love, sincere unconditional love which is a God-given privilege, to make that special difference of trading judgement, for love, with everyone we meet, for God does not operate on a 'chance it' basis, he shapes us, moulds us, sends us opportunities, tests, blessings, and ultimately, works for the good of those he loves, in all that is done in this life. Share your blessings at the next available opportunity, and in so doing, may you too be blessed even more.