God's Economy

The teachings of the Bible can come across pretty harsh. The Old Testament especially. A lot of killing people, beheading, stoning, etc. Even the sayings of Christ sometimes didn't match the man he was. I think sometimes, we take the statements at face value. The statement's face, not the man who made it.

One is "Judge not lest you be judged" As a child growing up in my homogenous Christian world, I could almost see God behind a huge mahogany podium, black robes, wire rim glasses perched on his nose, looking down on me, gavel in hand, ready to pronounce my sentence. All because I was critical about a friend. It was a simple cause and effect, sin and punishment kind of thing to me.

Lately, I have questioned that. I think it may mean, if you judge other folks, 99% of the time, you are saying the same critical things to yourself. It is a habit. You can't cut someone else down without nicking yourself. I hate doing it and I try my best not to, but it is a hard habit to break. But what a difference it is making in my life. The less I criticize others, the less I criticize myself. It seems I was the judge in black robes. Not God. I am sure it doesn't make him shout for joy, but He is pretty much pointing out one of the economic realities of kingdom living. My cause and my effect. Hmmm - wonder what else I can find.