#JudgmentCalls

You go into the funeral home and walk past the casket and you know, you don't have to think about it, you know that man resting in the casket is dead. In life, most things are not so stark. People who cross your path on a daily basis act certain ways and you draw conclusions. You have to think about it.

A man checks his receipt every time he makes a purchase. He stands there in the middle of the aisle and takes time to go over the receipt with care, every time. Perhaps he is a tight-wad enters your mind. He doesn't look needy. He is well dressed. Never has there been a mistake on the receipt to cause him to go back and have it corrected, but he always checks.

Have you made a judgment call? If there was a trial and you were on the jury, your voice would need to be heard as a witness. But, you are not on a jury and no trial is proceeding. If your judgment call makes you, in real time, treat this man as tho he was a tight-wad and you mistreat him, you have made yourself jury and judge and dispensed the penalty. That is wrong on several levels. You don't know his history and no one gave you the right to sit in judgment on anyone.

Matthew 7:1 speaks about judging and tells us not to do it. A few verses later, verse 16, does say something that might seem contradictory; "by their fruits, you shall know them." It seems that we are allowed to check out the fruit of people's lives. We are not to judge them, but the fruit of their lives. You can know what kind of a tree is growing when you see it's fruit. You get to judge the deeds and words, not the person. God will be the final jury and judge of each of us, but you get to be a fruit inspector. You can partake or reject the fruit, but you must respect the person. It is imperative that we make judgement calls. Not to do so is irresponsible. It is dangerous to not know good fruit from bad fruit, good words from bad words. Fruit inspectors have studied to know good fruit from bad and that is your responsibility, to study. Your study book is the Bible. It will help you see the difference between good and bad words and deeds so that your judgment calls are more accurate.