james here in the 4th chapter is building a case against CHRISTians judging other CHRISTians.
verse 11 (niv), anyone who...judges...speaks against the law... is it illegal? is there a law against judging in the united states?
no, he's talking about the royal law. james 2:8 (nlt), ...keep the royal law found in scripture, "love your neighbor as yourself." james says if you do this you're doing what? when i judge you i'm breaking the royal law – the law of love – love your neighbor as yourself.
we say, "it's just words and people will forget them." people never forget words. you always remember them. judging is unloving.
then judging is unjustified.
james 4.12 (niv), there is only one lawgiver and one judge.
the word "lawgiver" is used six times in the old testament and only once in the new testament. the six times in the old testament refer to GOD and the same thing here – it's referring to GOD. only GOD has the right to judge. it's in GOD's job description. it's not in your job description to judge people. HE has not commissioned you to talk to everybody about everybody else.
one of the great weaknesses in people is we tend to generalize people by one mistake. if they make one mistake we write off their whole personality. if a guy makes a foolish mistake, we say, he's a fool!" not necessarily. maybe he just made a foolish mistake in one particular area.
think about this, we tend to judge in other people things we dislike in our self. psychologists have known that for a long time. when you see someone who reacts violently to a particular sin usually in their heart it means they have a hang up with it. it doesn't mean they're involved in it. it might just mean they have a fear that they will be involved in it. we always tend to react to our weaknesses in others. what we see is usually just a mirror of self.
just some thoughts from my front porch...
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