And if any man hears my words, and believes not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
(John 12:47)
I was sitting at an intersection waiting to make a left turn. There was a car coming to my left so I waited patiently for it to pass before I drove out across the lane and turned. I figured the car would go by before I made the turn, but it actually turned right onto the street I was on. The driver didn’t use her turn signal.
That made my waiting there a waste of time. If the driver of that car would have used her turn signal, I could have gone much earlier.
I was tempted to be mad until I heard a small voice say, “Have you ever turned without using your turn signal?” I wanted to say, “I would never do that! That is poor driving!” But I couldn’t say that because I knew that somewhere, on more than one occasion, I had violated that courtesy.
Most everything we get mad at someone else for we have violated ourselves. I realize there are a few extreme or violent things we might not have done. Congratulations! Send me your address and I’ll mail you the “Congratulations because you haven’t sinned in this area yet” certificate.
God, in His mercy, reminds me to be merciful—not judgmental, quick to anger, or critical. For the person who is not honest with himself will continue to be blind to his own personal shortcomings and failures. That person will never have a deep love for people.
It’s hard to be perfect in such an imperfect world without a revelation of God’s mercy—His mercy toward us and His mercy working in us toward others. Perfect people get angry with flawed people.
People who frequently judge everything and every word spoken by others are simply living in the practice of distraction from the clean-up efforts of their own personal lives. It helps them feel better about themselves. They constantly criticize or judge. Jesus was focused on saving the world, not judging and tearing people down.
Judge Only Yourself
Jesus created a better plan for us. He gave us His Word, which gives us the ability to judge ourselves. First Corinthians 11:31 says, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” We judge ourselves against the Word of God.
Look at what it says in the book of Hebrews:
For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
(Heb. 4:12)
If we are honest, it will show us where we have sinned and where we have received God’s grace and mercy. People who are honest with themselves know they lap up the mercy of God like a thirsty dog on a blistering hot day drinking from a garden hose.
We survive only by the mercy of God. In turn, we should emulate God’s mercy in our dealings with others, remembering that we have probably done the very thing we’re mad at them about!
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Timothy Burt is a pastor, author, and writer. He is best known as the author of Fresh Manna, a daily devotional and online Bible study.
Pastor Tim became a part of the leadership team at Living Word Christian Center in 1984 and was an Associate Pastor from 1989 until May 31st, 2017. He and His wife Renee, also a Pastor at Living Word, resigned after being a part of Living Word for 33 years on May 31, 2017. They felt impressed by God to pursue the tremendous growth of their ministry "Fresh Manna," as well as teaching conferences and seminars and increasing their involvement in the mission field through Tim and Renee Burt Ministries. Tim has a Bachelor of Theology degree and is a Christian blogger who has been writing a daily inspirational and teaching devotion three days a week called "Fresh Manna" for the past 22 years. It has been read in over 227 countries (official countries and territories). Tim was named one of the top 55 blogging Pastors. He is one of the top Social Media influencers in Minnesota with a strong presence on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimBurt with over 187,000 followers. Between Tim's Fresh Manna Devotional and Twitter influence, he virally averages reaching over 4 million people daily with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God.
Prior to working at LWCC, he worked at Northwest Airlines for 13 years. In 1985 he founded and was President of American Infant Care Products which marketed his patented invention, the first fold-down commercial infant changing table now used worldwide in public restrooms.
In their tenure at Living Word, Timothy Burt and his wife Renee created a Small Group Ministry when the church was about 800 people in size. Under the leadership of Sr. Pastors Mac and Lynne Hammond, the church grew to over 10,000 people. Pastor Tim and Renee led a diverse Small Group Ministry of over 200 groups. Tim also led weekly men's groups and a monthly Men's Breakfast of 250 plus men called Manhood for 27 years. Tim's responsibilities also included oversight over the Visitor and Member Relations Department, Leadership and Volunteer Development, and the Pastoral Care Department. Pastor Tim was also the Minnesota State Director of Christians United for Israel from 2006 thru 2017.
Tim and Renee are the parents of four children and have seven grandchildren. Tim loves to write, golf, run, and walk, and is a master gardener. He is a five-time marathon finisher. He is also a three-time award-winning gardener winning the Grand Prize in his city for his beautiful home garden and is a Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota's Master Gardener Extension Program.