GPS Guide – August 7, 2019

DISAGREEMENT

Wednesday

Read: Matthew 7:1-5, 12

1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (NIV Matthew 7:1-5)

“¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. ” (NIV Matthew 7:12)

Study: Jesus challenged our tendency to judge others, while overlooking or excusing any tendency on our part to do similar (or even worse) things. That is destructive and hurtful enough in families or workplaces. Taken into the realm of politics, it seems to go on steroids. Then Jesus added the positive side of the command with what we call the Golden Rule: “You should treat people in the same way that you want people to treat you.” At times Christians act as if the Golden Rule just means “Be ‘nice’” in surface-y, social ways. Not so—sometimes treating others as we would wish to be treated challenges us deeply. What people or conditions make it hardest for you to treat others as you’d wish to be treated? Jesus linked the Rule to words from Leviticus 19:18: “you must love your neighbor as yourself.” How can you discern how best to live the Rule in ways that bless others while retaining healthy boundaries and self-care?

Pray: Lord, you lived your earthly life in the rhythms of grace, never imposing yourself on others, yet always seeking to draw even your enemies. Teach me today how to live more and more that way. Amen.