How do we Project Compassion Instead of Judgement

Defensiveness seems to be the theme of the day. Social media has made it very easy to defend our actions while at the same time point out the deficiencies of others…To be fair it is not a new phenom becuase of social media....we have always had this tendency to justify bad behaviour by pointing out the worse behaviour in other people.

The problems with this is that when people do not start with themselves they project judgement instead of dispensing compassion…This leads to more turmoil and less peace in our lives and the general state of the world.

We have all had moments where we felt the need to defend ourselves or point out the flaws of others to either unintentionally or intentionally make sure everyone knows we are the real rule followers even though we know there is room for improvement. So how do we fix this?

Healthy Christians do not desire to point out the sins of others becuase they are keenly aware of the compassion Jesus shows them for their own short comings.

Today we are going to explore the idea that:

Compassion is the Key to giving up our tendency to point out the flaws of others.

Jesus lays this out in the follow Passage.

Matthew 7:1–6 NLT

1 “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. 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. 6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

Very often people struggle to get past verse one of our reading this morning. Don’t Judge or you will be Judged....This is usually a sentiment that is communicated when one is not living up to a standard that others think is Godly.

People will defend themselves in the face of bad behaviour with words like...You can’t judge me…Only God can judge me…mind your own business…and a variety of other phrases all usually justified from this passage.

Reading Matthew 7:2 “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.” alone can and often does lead to another extreme....

It is ok to judge as long as I am pure in the way I live.

People that take this direction are often called Holier than thou, Holy Roller, goodie two shoes, or even spiritual elitist are titles for people that feel empowered to point out flaws becuase they feel they own the moral high ground.

This is what it is so important to read both verses together.

“1 “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.”

Judgement is not a healthy way to live. It leads both the one judging and the one being judged to stay stuck in a cycle of justification and defence of bad behaviour

Everyone is wired to avoid responsibility for the wrong they do…It starts from a very young age. Think about it…a small child who is asked if he ate a cookie she was told not to eat most of the time will look at an adult strait in the eye and shake their head no....even with chocolate chip stains around their mouths....

The rule follower who was with them when they ate it will tattle to make sure the adult knows that they have followed the rules.

WE are constantly telling our kids not to break the rules and don’t tattle…Yet as Children they just can’t help but do both.

Isn’t it funny how little has changed from the first century until now. Isn’t it funny how we are not that much different than kids sometimes?

We too either want to be left alone despite our guilt…or we feel like we have the right to point out the deficiencies of others because we are “more innocent” than others may be.

One need not go any further than the incident at the Oscars between Will Smith and Chris Rock.

Picture of Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock

In case you have been hiding in a cave this week…Chris Rock a comedian made a poor joke at the expense of Will Smiths wife…Will Smith responded by walking on stage live and slapping Chris Rock in the face.

Then proceeded to yell at Chris Rock from his seat to not talk about his wife anymore....In the grand scheme of things this was not a big deal but like everything else the internet had made it possible for everyone to have an opinion.

Some believe Chris Rock deserved it and others are calling for and end to Will Smiths career for a momentary lack of self control....I do not want you to go the rightness or wrongness of the actions of either participants of this event.

I want us to focus on how people are responding. One well know performer claimed he would have sued Will Smith for 200 million dollars…Others came to Smiths defence with tweets like “thats how we do it” referencing defending his wife.

In other words we have seen people judge or justify Will Smiths actions....and we have seen people judge of justify Chris Rocks actions (PAUSE) the one thing that was missing in all of these response was the ability to put ones self in the shoes of either parties.

Having a log in one’s eye would certainly distort one’s vision. How could someone with that big of a vision impediment be trusted to make any fair or accurate judgments about what they see?

There were a few people that took a different approach…Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry, and Bradley Cooper instead of judgment offered compassion.

In Smiths apology he said the Denzel warned him that when we are at our highest is with the devil is working that hardest against us.

Notice here Denzel did not say it was ok…in fact he was rebuking Smith but with compassion not judgement.

Everyone of these men were able to help instead of hurt becuase they have been where Will Smith was and have worked through their issues…It does not mean they are perfect but their personal trials makes them more empathetic and compassionate.

When we put in the work to remove the log (often helped along by others journeying with us), we gain empathy and compassion that better positions us to help others with their specks.

This passage is more of a call to compassion than a call to judge or not to judge.

Helping someone from a place of compassion and grace is entirely different than harshly judging someone.

Judgment seeks to destroy and divide. Earnest care and compassion seek the well-being of the other person. We should be wary of those who point out faults for their own benefit, who seek to be praised for their correction of others, or who wish to say, “I told you so.” These are judges, not truth tellers.

Likewise, we should embrace and be grateful for the truth tellers who humble themselves, take care of their own sin, and journey to help others from of a place of genuine humility. We can identify them by the ways they embody the fruit of the Spirit.

Those who seek the destruction of others are like the dogs and pigs in verse 6. They seek only to attack and destroy.

When we shift the focus away from the speck that is in everyone else’s eye to the plank in our own, we discover how far we have to go to live to the standards God has set for us.

But most importantly, we are reminded of the immense grace of God.

How do we make this shift in our lives?

Acknowledge that there is a plank/Log.

One of the challenges in this text is that the person with the plank is so busy looking for specks in the eyes of others that they don’t seem to recognize their own plank.

We have to acknowledge that we often fail to recognize our own faults and sins— especially when we are busy pointing out the faults in others.

Surrender to Grace.

It wouldn’t take a long conversation with a nurse or doctor to learn that removing something from a flailing person would be impossible.

In order to have the object that is impairing us removed, we must surrender to having it removed in the first place.

Surrendering to the work of the Spirit may require surrendering to accountability, listening to and learning from others, becoming comfortable with our own discomfort, therapy, spiritual disciplines, or any other ways the Spirit reveals to us that we need work.

Taking these simple steps allow us to grow in grace and compassion instead of living comparison and competition.

God is calling us to compassion for the world not competition for the moral high Ground.

Let us prepare to come to the Table this morning full of grace, compassion and patience for ourselves and for others who may be struggling.

James Come after this statement

Not because we are better but becuase we remember what God has developed us from.

We here at Broke Arrow Nazarene Strive to connect people to God and others by making a space where everyone can belong. I hope that today everyone feels this way.

Whether you have been a life long attender or someone who has just started to attend with us. No matter which group you find yourself in I want you to know that this time of communion is a time of response to the message you have just heard.

INVITE COMMUNION SERVERS

Invitation to altar to come to faith/communion

Communion:

Closing Prayer: