The Defects of Others

We would willingly have others perfect, and yet we correct not our own faults. We will have others severely corrected, and will not be corrected ourselves. The large liberty of others displeases us, and yet we will not have our own desires denied us. We will have others bound down by ordinances, and we ourselves endure no further restraint.

And thus it appears, how seldom we weigh our neighbor in the same balance with ourselves.

Thomas A` Kempis of the Imitation of Christ

The sad thing is that I have already proven the truth of these words many times over. You too have proven them if you thought about anyone else but yourself as you read this passage. I even had in mind people to whom I would send it in hopes that they might listen to the Scriptures and be corrected!

The Scriptures go so far as to warn us that we will be judged with the same severity we wish to put upon others.[1] Now, we are to be discerning. So, what is the difference between the two, discernment and judging?

Judging strikes out. It seeks punishment. In its most harsh display its goal in fact is punishment alone. Judgment has decided a guilty verdict already. It has concluded the severity of the consequences to be meted out. It will decide when the debt has been paid in full. When we are the ones doing the judging, that means we reserve the right to decide when the punishment is sufficient and the debt has been paid.

Discernment seeks understanding. Discernment may recognize that an offense has been committed, but it seeks to understand the circumstances that prompted one to commit the act itself. Yes, consequences may still need to be enforced. However, even in the enforcement of correction the ultimate goal is restoration. How do we restore a person to the position they had before. Not, how do we punish them so severely that they will never consider committing the same offence again.

When we trip over our own morals, how would we wish to be dealt with? Most of us would hope for someone who would understand our situation, that as they decide our fate, they could put themselves in our situation and say, “if that were me, I might have done the same thing.”

Cover your neighbors’ faults with love, that they might do the same for you when your time comes. In so doing you show forth the love of Christ and your life proclaims the good news of the gospel for all to hear.

Pastor Craig

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[1] Romans 14:13