preacherman

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Holier Than Thou

Have you ever been around a group of Christians in which the only things they do are criticize and slander others- whether believers or unbelievers.

I believe God's word, inspired, tells us that it is not our place to judge. God is the one to judge the hearts and minds of men. In Jesus' famous sermon on the mount he gives warning about judging others.

Matthew writes, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judge, and with the measure you use, it will be measured."(7:1-3) There are many Christians in today's world that love judging others' acts, thoughts and motives for about everything they say or do.

Do you know those people who strive to build themselves on self-righteousness saying, "Well at least I'm not like?"...or "At least I am not like this group"? "If only other people were as righteous as I was the world would be a better place."

Matthew goes on and says, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye."(7:4-5) In other words: take care of your own business. It isn't our place to judge others. No one can be saved by their own self-righteousness.

The following are lyrics by James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich by Metallica called "Holier Than Thou":

No More! The Crap Rolls Out Your Mouth Again
Haven't Changed, Your Brain Is Still Gelatin
Little Whispers Circles Around Your Head
Why Don't You Worry About Yourself Instead?
Who Are You? Where You Been? Where You From?
Gossip Is Burning Off The Tip Of Your Tongue
You Lie So Much You Believe Yourself
Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged Yourself

Holier Than Thou
You Are
Holier Than Thou
You Are
You -Know -Not

Before You Judge Me Take A Look At You
Can You Find Something Better To Do?
Point The Finger, Slow To Understand
Arrogance and Ignorance Go Hand In Hand
It's Not Who You Are It's Who You Know
Others Lives are The Basis of Your Own
Burn Your Bridges Build Them Back With Wealth
Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged Yourself

Holier Than Thou
You Are
Holier Than Thou
You Are
You-Know-Not!

How many of you are judged the lyrics by Metallica? LOL :-)
Why do Christians judge others? Why do they think it is there place?

I even had one Christian says his gift was a fruit picker. If a member wasn't at church or didn't ever go to class he knew his faith was greater than theirs and took pride in it and took it upon himself to let them know about it. I don't think God gives us the gift of fruit picker.

If I am wrong please show me Bible, book and verse. If I have made my readers uncomfortable then great! Let's do GOD a favor and let HIM do HIS job. Let God be the judge. And heed to the warning by Jesus given in his sermon; the measure you use to judge, it will be measured to you.

Have you been judged by others? How did effect your faith, relationship with God? What does it do to Christians who constantly criticize others instead of encourage? How does it make you feel that God is the judge? What do you think about this warning? Do you think most Christians adhere to the warning of Jesus to not judge? Why not? Why do "Christians" want to play the self-righteous game? In what ways have you seen this played out in churches today? Does it turn off Christians to a relationship with Christ and true Christianity? What toil does it play on ministers and their families?

I want to challenge Christians worldwide to encourage, show God's grace and mercy to those in need. Imagine the difference and impact we can make.

What do you think?
Share your thoughts.

43 Comments:

Blogger kc bob said...

Great post my friend!! I suspect that you will get some feedback using Greek words and speaking of words like discernment.. but not from me.. I am in 1000% agrement with you.

Hope all is well Kinney.

Many blessings, Bob

12:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No doubt this will be a sensitive topic of discussion. From what I understnd from God's word, judging is wrong when I try to decide what other people's motive's are for doing what they do. Only God can judge the heart.
And did you know that the early christians where know as the "KIND ONES".

1:16 PM  
Blogger preacherman said...

Kansas Bob,
Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement brother. Your friendship means alot to me.

2:31 PM  
Blogger preacherman said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

2:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I will pray for the man who believes his gift is a fruit picker. Those are the kind of people who hurt Christianity and and the Church. You are always in my prayers Kinney & Tess.

Jane

2:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I believe holier than thou type of Christians hurt Chrisitianity. We need to strive to not be known judgemental but accepting, full of love and grace.

2:58 PM  
Blogger preacherman said...

Are we still know as the "KIND ONES"? Can we truely say it? Does the world see it or do they see Christians striving to be self-righteous and judgemental to everything and everyone who doesn't believe and think the exact way we do?

3:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Preacherman,
I want to encourage you brother. You have a heart after God himself. We are a loving, graceful congregation. One of the things we stress is loving sinners but trying to change the sin in their life. We understand that all sin and fall short of his glory. All sin is worthy of death yet Christ in his love saves us and makes us whole when we accept his grace. I think "holier than thou" christians, fruit pickers, legalists have an agenda to keep people to human traditions, sin, and freedom that we find in Christ Jesus. Preacherman stay strong and keep the faith. Don't let those who are "Holier Than Thou" ruin your ministry and difference you are making. We love you and your family and have been praying for you and your family during the entire time of your illness.

Tucker

3:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you need anything at all let us know brother. We are here for you and your family.

Sam

3:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I believe as Christians we need be accept and love everyone just as Christ did for each of us. I hope we can stop the "Holier Than Thou" attitudes that many in the Church of Christ have towards one another and outsiders. The church of Christ must change it's attitude if it is going to be affective in the world.

3:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love Metallica and this song is one of my favorites because of its message. Thank you Preacherman for blogging outside of the box and making us think about our lives.

Metal Head
:-)

3:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i have not heard that song before, brother kinney.

it is easy to get caught up in judging, for sure. some really well intentioned people can go that way at times.

it is good that you brought it up for thought.

3:35 PM  
Blogger preacherman said...

Nancy,
Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement. You are totally right that it is easy to get caught in the busy of judging, yet we must remember that it is God's job not ours. I know that I am a sinner in need of his grace. I thank God for His love and grace everyday that I live. I thank him with every breath. Again, thank you Nancy, you mean so much sis.
I hope you have a blessed weekend.

3:43 PM  
Blogger preacherman said...

Anonymous,
Can it be?
Metal head Chris?
Just curious.
Bob. :-)

3:44 PM  
Blogger cwinwc said...

Those who make it their business to judge others may not realize they're doing it or they call it something else. I've never seen a legalist jump up and down and say, "Hey, I'm a legalist."

In addition, I think one who is prone to judging or "fruit picking," may have their concept of salvation tied into being in the right church with the right name saying and doing the right things rather than trusting and submitting to the transforming power of Jesus.

10:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The difficult thing is not falling into the trap of judging the motives of the judges. We may feel justified in doing so ... especially when we have been targeted ... but we still must let God work His justice and not try to fix others with our words. Especially if we're doing eye-for-eye judging. Love ya brother...what a great topic.

10:35 PM  
Blogger jeleasure said...

Hi Kinney,
I agree with the premis you have on this issue. Your example from the person who says his gift is as a 'fruit inspector' is the context that Jesus condemns in His use of this word 'judge'. With that, I hope you do not feel that I am crossing you in any way, unless I did not understand your position, which I am sure I have.

And yes, Kansas Bob is right. I myself would like to put into perpspective the two Greek words that are used for judge. Not for any other reason than the defense and the restoration of the church. And for this, we who care to study and properly use the word of God must have the proper understanding.
We are called by Jesus' example to defend the House of God. As He, only once showed such tenacity and disdain in clearing those merchants who were exploiting the Family of God from the Temple. Today, this Temple is not a building but each individual who is assulted by errant theology and poor leadership.

For any one person to say he is more spiritual than another is to elevate one's self with the judgement that is reserved for God's use, not man's. That person who believes God made him a "fruit inspector" is condemning another person and elevating himself. And we know, this is not his position to act on as this person is not the Creator of the Universe. That word for anyone who wishes to understand is KRIMATI. This word comes by various tenses and parsings from the word KRIMA.

KRIMA: judgment; a sentence, award, Matt 7:2; a judicial sentence; an adverse sentence. (Obviously reserved for God's use in contrast to the first judgement seen in Mt. 7:1 witch is KRINETE. KRINETE is arrived at through tenses and parsing as well, witch comes from KRINO. KRINO is to separate, make distinction between, to estimate.

Plug this use of the word 'judge' into Mt. 7:1 and it would appear as...

" Do not KRINO (estimate)or you too will be KRINO (written as KRITHATE for future tense of being), estimated".

In Matthew 7:2, "For in the same way you judge (KRIMA, basically, condemn: Root) others, you will be judged (KRIMA)...". NOTE, there is a reference to the method of judging, "in the same way". It switches to the Nominative form. That witch superseeds any other form of judgement to include the lesser in its reference. So, if you are judgeing to estimate, you will also be estimated. If you are judging to condemn, you will be condemned. We know that a person who is without blame may distance himself from those who have 'spiritual issues'. I mean these issues which will cause a person to reflect on such proverbs as "bad company corrupts good character". So, we are warned to estimate a person for whether it would be spiritually healty to hang with that person. In other words, a Christian who may be lead back into drug use by hanging out with drug users should have nothing to do with these people, unless this is a strong Christian who desires to help these people find change and salvation.

Mt. 7:2 begins with KRIMATI or KRIMA

The other word for 'judge'(KRINO) is to evaluate a person for their character. We must do this as the scripture says, "Bad company corrupts good character" and "As iron sharpens iron, man sharpens man". The scripture says "we will know a tree by its fruit"

Thanks Kinney. I should probably do a post on this issue as it is complicated. Translation, for anyone who does not understand that one word in English may have two or three uses in another language. Such as love. You have probably taught on the three Greek words for "Love" for our one word "Love".

11:24 PM  
Blogger Ted M. Gossard said...

I think Jesus makes it clear that we can only help others when we make sure that first of all we've found help ourselves. And this has to make us humble, because we know we're no better at all.

People who actually see themselves as better than others are sinning in so doing, of course. This is a direct violation of what Scripture tells us we're to do.

This is quite destructive. We need to have discernment when it is going on, and that requires judgment as well. But with alot of prayers. That God in his grace would soften hearts and change people.

12:00 AM  
Blogger Cheryl Russell said...

Nice thoughts Kinney! I posted a blog about this a while back, I even invented a word for it - piousitis! http://cheryllrussell.blogspot.com/2008/03/conspicuous-religiosity.html

We are fooling ourselves when we compare ourselves to one another - we all fall short, we all miss the mark. The only chance we have to grow in faith and relationship with Christ comes from comparing ourselves to Christ!

2:50 AM  
Blogger jeleasure said...

Cheryl Russell said,

"We are fooling ourselves when we compare ourselves to one another".

Yep. Pretty simple. I did not have to go through all of the word study stuff to say what I said. Paul actually says this same thing. (2Cor. 2:10)

8:22 AM  
Blogger preacherman said...

I appreciate everyone's thoughts on this topic.

8:29 AM  
Blogger preacherman said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

8:44 AM  
Blogger preacherman said...

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers today.
I appreciate all the comments and discussion on this topic.
I feel it is so important for us to shower blessings on people, to be an encouragement, to display God's love and grace to those around us. Let this Sunday be a day where we strive not be "Holier Than Thou" but focus on Christ and worship him in all holiness and humility.
God bless each of you.
Lets continue this discussion.
May the Lord be with you today.

8:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You and your family are in our prayers today. May God speak powerfully through you today.

Scott

8:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is amazing what we can learn by deep lyrics. It is my hope that today we will go to church and there won't be anyone judging anyone else but that is just a dream. I know the truth. I think that is why the world is turn off by Christianity. Great post Preacherman.

Freddie Gonz.

9:31 AM  
Blogger Wes said...

I ran across this blog after seeing a comment you left somewhere else.Two things:1) Kudos on weaving Metallica lyrics into your post (even though I think they suck :p ).2) There are two meanings of the word "judge" in the Bible. The type of judging we're to stay away from is that that's reserved for God Himself - that is, determining where someone will spend eternity.Sometimes when people say things like, "Don't judge me," or, "You can't judge me - who do you think you are," what they're actually saying is, "Who are you to tell me what's right or wrong."The Bible outlines for us what's "right and wrong," and God has created us with minds able to distinguish between the two. We're actually encouraged to lean on one another, to love on another, and to turn each other away from "sins that lead to death."I don't have time to complete this post because I have to leave for Bible study, but here's a quick summary.1) It's wrong to "judge" in a sense of telling someone they're going to hell.2) It's absolutely right to understand the difference between right and wrong, sinful and non-sinful, and to lovingly share that with others.To neglect that would be very UNloving.

11:14 AM  
Blogger Tammy Snyder said...

I agree with Jeleasure and Wes.
It's not about judging...looking down your nose or name calling BUT,
the Bible says that the Word is to be used to encourage, rebuke and correct. For the Christian, that is our responsibility. Love is what we use to do that...along with the Word of course. It's all about your intent and purposes. Let them glorify God by how you represent Christ.
God Bless,
Tammy Snyder

12:49 PM  
Blogger kc bob said...

Ditto Tammy on encouraging, rebuking and correcting.. as long as it is under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and done within the bounds of a loving relationship.. if not it just comes across as holier-than-thou and doesn't help anyone.

12:57 PM  
Blogger jeleasure said...

Hay Preacherman,
The game is on. Go to this link
and follow the instructions. See if you can spot the newly added text.

11:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love this Metallica song.
It really hit close to home when it comes to Church, Christians and of course Ministry. I mean people judge people at church, the most judgemental people are Christians and the most judged of all Christians are ministers and their families which put stress in their life.

Todd

11:56 PM  
Blogger thoughts of a person on a journey said...

I tell my students that when they point their finger at someone else (judging) they have three fingers pointing right back at them.

No- one except Jesus has any right to judge anyone else. Suggesting people look at their actions, check what they say etc is good - I don't think that is judging, but is enabling others to look at their failings. I know I am not perfect (far from it) so how can I judge others?

5:40 PM  
Blogger Shosannah said...

I couldn't agree more with this post!
Mercy and love seem to be the main themes of the gospels as far as I can tell.
As Christ is the ultimate judge we are meant to leave the judging to him. The command he gave was for us to love eachother not condemn eachother.
You can never do a person or a situation any harm by bringing love to them.
Besides, I know I get it wrong to many times myself to ever feel like I could cast the first stone.

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