One of the big struggles I see all the time as Christ-Followers is we know God is the judge, not us, but then we abandon needed judgment for ourselves and each other in the process.
I really appreciate Josh Galgan's message this last weekend from James 4:11-12. He pointed out that we are not to judge others' motives, but we can judge each others' behaviors against a standard. But first we must judge ourselves and correct our course. Matthew 7:3-5 says...
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
And I started to take an inventory of my life. Even with my time in the Bible and the Holy Spirit active in my life, without people around me, teaching me, coaching me, judging my progress, I would not be anything like I am today, nor would I grow as well toward tomorrow. I like to explain the need for each of us to have trusted advisers in our life like this: "Your life is like a movie, and since you're in it, you lose context with the big picture. You need people outside of the movie to give you context." As Christ-Followers, we need people who know God and His Word to help us direct our "movie."
I have three or four people completely outside of my family and church that help me see things straight. The best ones at times are those that don't even have a close relationship with me, because close friends can become protective, and hold back on some hurtful truths sometimes. I personally need a judge in my life, like Simon Cowell on American Idol, who cares so much about my real real objective, knowing God and being Christ-like, that they're not afraid to hurt my feelings.
Take any of the current reality shows, American Idol, Design Star, The Apprentice, you name it, and turn them into "Christ Follower." Take away all the other contestants. It's not about competing or how you compare to others. You simply want to be the best Christ Follower you can be. And every week you stand before the judges and ask how your last week was. And every week they coach you. This was really good... there you could be better... This choice was a mistake...
Who's sitting at your judges' table? Who will you ask to speak into your life? You will you trust to tell you something you don't want to hear, perhaps don't even believe to be true? But that you trust beyond your own "wrong thinking?"
