Responding to the Call - Valuing others

Matthew 7:1-2

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged”

John Wesley said: “these are awful words – that we shall be judged by God by the way that we have judged those around us”.

We tend to be a judgmental lot. Let me clarify, I tend to be very judgmental person. Much more than I realize. The judgments we make of others by in large determine the value we place on the relationships and people around us. We draw opinions and make judgments of those who surround us all the time. We enter into judgments relating to those who work around us, those we work with in our workplace, and those we see in other circles (districts, departments, Corporate and around the province). We have made an art form of keeping judgments of those who we lead or who lead us. We attribute motives and form opinions of people and then lock them pretty tightly into those categories.

For example, how do we judge or evaluate the value of that teenage that’s holding a sign at that stop sign that says “hungry”? It’s easy for me to assume: lazy, school dropout, drug addict, using the system, needs to get a job… However, while some of those things may be true – who do I see? Do I see who Jesus sees? Do I judge as God judges? We might be surprised by his judgment.

How do we judge the person with mental illness – who comes into our church and rants and raves about how the CAS stole her children and how “they” are trying to take her down – and yells at a me “you only think you’re a Christian!”?

How do we judge that child, mom or dad that we’ve never met, nor ever will, who sits in the hot dry mud packed earth, infected and dying with Aids?

We tend to value those relationships that are value adding to us in some way. When you think about it, most of us are pretty egocentric in our relationship with others. We internally calculate a personal cost, and by doing so, we place a ‘value’ on the other person – but what we are willing to invest? If I’m not willing to invest anything in you – what value do I place on you?
People that I feel are wasting my time or not ‘benefiting’ me - I tend to be impatient with, I want to escape, and shut down that conversation as quickly as I can so I can move on.

If we are to truly value others, we need to closely examine the standards by which we judge.

Anyway I was just thinking.

Neil