Kingdom Spirituality Part 2 – Matthew 7:1-12 – One of the most dominant views about Christians today is that they are judgmental. According to the Barna Research Group and The Fermi Project (“A New Generation Expresses its Skepticism and Frustration with Christianity,” September 2007), a study of people ages 16–29 in the United States, nearly 90 percent of respondents said that Christians were judgmental in the way they practice their faith. If you are like me you can immediately justify your position and minimize their perception. I might say, “What they are doing is wrong and so they feel God’s judgment and they put it on us.” 

That seems like a good justification, but then comes Jesus. He says, in his Kingdom, interpersonal spirituality looks like not condemning and speaking evil of one another. Rather, we are to be merciful, seeking clarity, and understanding before even trying to address the issue in other brothers and sisters. This is clearly a complex issue, but so are the people (and their motivations or instincts) we are engaging. He is the judge and we would do well to not engage the amending of another’s character without plenty of self reflection and empathic tears. Jesus says we need wisdom; wisdom from above. This is something we need to ask for in order to receive and not give up.

Then Jesus launches into our distrust of the Father’s character and tells us that the Father is loving, attentive, and present. He wants us to pray for the kingdom to come and to be an active partner in bringing about his kingdom. What after all is the kingdom other than his will being done in and through his people? Take a listen to this message from March 4, “Do You Follow? Kingdom Spirituality” and tell me what you think it means when Jesus says to not be judgmental.