Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? Matthew 7:1-3 NLT
One thing all religions have in common is a structure of law-keeping and ladders their adherents must follow. The Pew Research Council says there are five main religions in the world: Christianity is the largest, and then Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism. Then there are folk religions in small quantities around the world, and unaffiliated small groups.
Christianity is vastly different than any of the other religions because we are not simply a system of beliefs, and the beliefs we do have are nothing like the religions listed. That is why when you understand and follow Jesus, it is not a religion. Many Christians have made their faith a religion, but that’s not the way it is supposed to be.
We are the only faith that claims to follow a resurrected Savior who is forever alive. Our faith is based on the most amazing event in all human history – the resurrection of Jesus who was crucified, dead, and buried for three days, then rose again.
Our faith stands alone in that God reaches down to man. We don’t go looking for God – He comes looking for us.
Our faith stands alone in that we don’t have a system of dos and don’ts to appease God; we follow Jesus and please God as we do. In other faiths people are judged by others and by God, then are accepted or rejected based on their success in keeping the laws. We are accepted because of what Jesus has done, and we follow Him and become increasingly like Him as we do.
Judging others is for God. It is above our pay grade. We don’t have the ability or wisdom to do it. It breaks relationships with others and with God. We become mean, religious Pharisees, the kind of people who rejected Jesus and crucified Him because He didn’t keep the law. Jesus gave us one command; one new law to follow. That is to love others as He has loved us. Whew. That is a big one. It will make me like Jesus – such a challenge, keeping me so occupied with people and growth, I won’t have time or desire to judge others. I’ll be working on my love like Jesus.
- Jesus, when I start to take over your job responsibility, please catch me. I want to follow You in love, not get rigid in rules. Thank You for accepting me, just as I am, and helping me become like You.