Having Good Judgment without Becoming Judges

Once we have studied and discussed and prayed, the one thing we will have learned for sure is that there are few specific, practical rules in Scripture. The rules that we do find are open to individual interpretation, and therefore must be taught by God’s “still, small voice,” not by us. In all our attempts to discern clearly what God would have us do in all these things, we will find ourselves changing positions as we grow, both in age and in spiritual maturity. What is OK for us today will not necessarily be what is right for us at some other point in our lives. That being the case, how can we stand in judgment on another’s decision concerning what is right for them? We can do all in our power to make our influences positive, to encourage others to see that their lives matter not just to themselves, but to God. We can share these questions, and be honest about our own struggles and occasional flip-flopping. But we can’t make anyone else’s decision, just our own (and for our small children). If a friend does not see why she needs to consider God’s opinion, we must be quiet and pray. If a friend who is a Christian says he has prayerfully considered and has come up with a decision that is different from ours, then perhaps we ought to pray and ask God whether we have something to learn from him. But it is also possible that different people, in different situations, with different personalities and needs may get different directions from God. Yes, it really is possible. And that’s God’s business, not ours.

All we know is, Jesus wants us to be in the world, but not of it. And that’s probably as progressive as any other aspect of Christianity and sanctification. On one of His last nights on earth, He talked about this very subject. Eighteen times in Jesus’ prayer in John 17, that word kosmos (world) appears. Eighteen times! That’s worth some study time. Here’s probably the definitive text: “I am no longer in the world; yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. … I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” (John 17:11, 15-16)

As Jesus lived and moved and had His being in this world, as He mingled and loved and worked, so are we to be. As He kept His goals and His citizenship above, so must we. And if He needed thirty years’ training and whole nights in prayer, how much do we need?

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 25)