President Trump has popularized the phrase “fake news”. I get it because I’ve had reporters hear what they wanted to hear me say then printed “fake news”. But then, I’m sure I too have misunderstood what someone has said even if I didn’t print it. Chances are, you’ve had that same type of thing happen to you. Fake news primarily happens because a person jumps to a conclusion and makes a judgement without taking the time to get to know the speaker’s heart. Jesus did say Matthew 7:1 (NKJV) “Judge not, that you be not judged.” But He also said, John 7:24 (NKJV) “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Paul wrote a letter to Philemon from prison sending back to him a slave (Onesimus) who had run away from him and somehow ended up in Rome with Paul. Paul had assisted in Onesimus’ salvation and in turn Onesimus had served Paul while he was in prison. If you isolate verses 8-10 in the letter to Philemon, the words Paul uses can appear to be emotionally packed and certainly sound like he is manipulating his friend Philemon into treating his runaway slave in an honorable way. However, by reflecting on the game-changing verses 10-12, you are able to gain insight into the heart that motivated those words. In Paul’s case, for a male to write such things, you realize they were penned out of gut-wrenching feelings and purely out of God’s kind of love for both parties involved.
Jesus’ word and deeds were misunderstood, even by his own disciples who knew His heart!!! His disciples understood His deity (Mt. 16:16), but they misunderstand what He taught about the Kingdom of God and His death. Peter couldn’t believe Jesus would die on the cross (Mt. 16:22) and the disciples could not understand why the kingdom of God didn’t happen as they had expected (Acts 1:6). But they followed Him because they knew His heart. In contrast, those who had only seen His miracles and heard some of His teaching ended up calling for His crucifixion. If you are certain your heart is right, and you are still misunderstood, rest assured you are in the finest of company with our Lord.
Too often our initial wrong judgments influence how we go on to feel towards that person for decades. Those first-time impressions are hard to unlearn when later we get to really know the heart of that individual. Jesus’ admonition to that type of behavior is Luke 6:37-38 (NLT2) “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
How quick are we to judge a person before we know their heart, but it doesn’t feel so good when others do the same about what we say or do. Holy Spirit, please keep reminding me to relax, love others as You do and let You be the judge of what they say or do. Please remind all of us to allow You to settle the score.
Thank you, Pastor Bob.