"Our standing before God has to be fully understood, believed and applied on a daily basis or we are doomed to judge ourselves or someone else in the wrong light and cause a serious identity crisis in this world."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 55.
Judgement based on misunderstanding is such a damaging process we often bring into the lives of others. It is when we don't fully know what is going on in a person's life or when we misread a situation that judgement can be so damaging.
I saw this video on Facebook that made me laugh. It shows a business man buying five doughnuts and a cup of coffee. He sits down at a table picks up his phone and gets ready to enjoy his feast. Across from him sits a man who appears to be homeless. His unkempt beard and tattered cloths paints a picture that is so easy for us to judge as someone who is in a bad place. The bearded man has a cup of coffee too and makes eye contact for an uncomfortable moment as the business man considers what to do next. Should he move or just enjoy his coffee and doughnuts as he flips though his phone apps? The business man shrugs his shoulders in resignation to the situation and grabs a doughnut from the bag in front of him.
A few moment afterwards the homeless man reaches into the bag of doughnuts in front of the businessman and pulls out a doughnut for himself. The businessman's face shows the range of thoughts going through his mind. At first he thinks, "How dare him take my doughnut." Then with a shrug it appears he thinks, "Oh well I have five of them what's one doughnut going to matter in the scheme of things?" The businessman then reaches into the bag to get his second doughnut and gets back to his phone.
A few moments later the homeless guy reaches out and takes another doughnut! Now the businessman is really confused. What's going on with this guy? Who does he think he is taking my doughnuts like this? Quickly the businessman reaches into the bag to take his third doughnut and just stares at the homeless guy in disbelief. The homeless looking man simply keeps eating and upon finishing his doughnut gets up from his seat, picks up his belongings and reaches into the bag to take the last doughnut from in front of the businessman.
Now the business man is totally incensed. Not mad enough to say anything, but if looks could kill... The homeless looking man sees the businessman's look, glances at the doughnut and back at the man then takes the doughnut, breaks it in half, gives it to the businessman and walks away. All the businessman can do is stare at the homeless looking guy as he heads off to his next destination. Can't you imagine the thoughts running through his head. "How dare that guy take my doughnuts without even asking or thanking me." "Wasn't that guy SOOOO nice to share my last doughnut with me?" Judgement was working overtime in the businessman's heart as it often does when things happen to us that bring some level of offense.
The businessman finishes his last 1/2 of a doughnut and coffee and decides its time time move on to his next appointment. He reaches down to gather his belongings and under his coat he finds a bag. Inside the bag was five doughnuts - the original five doughnuts he had purchased in the first place. You see, the businessman and the man who looked homeless weren't eating from the bag the businessman had purchased. The businessman was actually eating from the bag of doughnuts the homeless looking man had bought. In fact, it wasn't the homeless looking guy sharing the last doughnut the businessman had bought, it was the homeless man offering the businessman 1/2 of the last doughnut the homeless looking guy had purchased.
You see, that business man could have drawn conclusions about this homeless looking guy that would have made his future interactions with similar looking people something that it should never be. Instead, the businessman was given a chance to learn a lesson we all need to learn - don't judge a book by its cover. It is when we have a greater perspective on what is going on that the seemingly offensive actions of others might make our judgement something that just isn't as reliable as we think it should be.
As damaging as it is when we don't judge others based on lacking understanding or perspective, it is absolutely devastating to who we are when we do judge our lives from that same place. We have to know who we are in order to be able to rightly judge our lives. This is especially the case when challenging circumstances come against us.
It is so easy to believe that we are less than what our surroundings are telling us we are. Failure, mistakes, bad luck and other circumstances we would rather not have in our lives all work to make us take a less than positive view of who we are and who we think God is in our lives. It is when we firmly grasp our standing before this God that made us that we have the best chance of withstanding the victim thinking tendencies that come with challenging circumstances in our lives.
Take a look at what today's reading says about our standing with God.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 (NIV)
We are so honored and valued that we have been elevated from the role of servant to the position of friend. Better than that, we are God' Child. That's why we can stand so completely in the status of a victor even when victory seems to be furtherst from our lives. It is when we try to judge our lives based on our circumstances that victor status can be something so hard to grasp.
Next time you judge others based on their silly actions, try to get more information. You might be making a judgement based on a perspective that is skewed at best and downright wrong at worst. Next time you are tempted to judge yourself based on how you view your standing in this world based on your circumstances, remember who you are. You are God's friend. You are a Child of God. You are a victor and nothing in this world will change those things no matter how your life might turn out today.
Take a look at what today's reading says about our standing with God.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 (NIV)
Next time you judge others based on their silly actions, try to get more information. You might be making a judgement based on a perspective that is skewed at best and downright wrong at worst. Next time you are tempted to judge yourself based on how you view your standing in this world based on your circumstances, remember who you are. You are God's friend. You are a Child of God. You are a victor and nothing in this world will change those things no matter how your life might turn out today.
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