Let God Be the Judge

In the past, I've heard many people talk about God's judgment. That word has such a negative connotation that we usually fail to see the positive. That word alone just seems to bring such a heaviness, a scariness, if you will. If this is all we understand, then we are really missing out on the positives of God's judgments.

Yes, as a Christian, I believe that we should live a life that is ever mindful that GOD SEES EVERYTHING we do, say, and even think. If I really want to please God with my life, I have to realize that nothing is hidden from Him. Just as that can be a scary thought to ponder when we don't live up to the standards of holiness and righteousness (thank God for Jesus and forgiveness), it can also be a very rewarding, overlooked, and strengthening aspect of God as well.

You see, I happen to believe that God is a not a tyrrant; He is a very good Daddy. He knows which of His children are acting right, He knows which of His children are acting wrongly, and He also knows those who don't even belong to His family. "The Lord knows those who are His" (II Timothy 2:19). He is very good at deciding what is right and wrong, making Him very good at making decisions for us. Those are His JUDGMENTS. HIS DECISIONS. HIS VERDICTS.

Let me show you a couple of scriptures that have "JUDGE" and "JUDGMENT" in them and give the definitions from the Hebrew origin.

Judges 2:18 says, "And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the JUDGE and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harrassed them."

According to the Spirit Filled Life Bible, that word JUDGE comes from the Strong's Concordance #8199 and means: "One who judges, governs, passes down judgment, pronounces sentence, and decides matters. The root is shaphat, to 'judge,' 'decide,' and 'pronounce sentence.' In English, both 'to judge' and 'judgment' have negative associations, but not so in Hebrew. Judgment is the balance, ethics, and wisdom, which, if present in a ruler's mind, enables him to govern equitably and to keep the land free from injustice. Judgment, when used of God, is that divine faculty whereby He runs the universe righteously, handing down decisions that will maintain or bring about a right state of affairs...."

Here is another scripture taken from Numbers 36:13: "These are the commandments and the judgments [of the] Lord..." The Spirit Filled Life Bible has commentary of that word "judgments" as well. From the Strong's Concordance #4941, JUDGMENT is, "Decision, determination, judgment; a personal cause or right; justice, rectification, correction, punishment. Occurring more than 400 times, [judgment as a verb means] to decide, decree, judge, rule, determine. Judgment is that faculty (found always in God and sometimes in man) that produces decisions based on justice, rightness, truth, fairness, and equity. Judgment rectifies imbalance and sets things right again. If punishment is what is required to rectify things, then judgment brings punishment...."

My 10-year-old just asked me about justice and judgment since she saw me typing this post. Like many of us, she too, had a frightening look on her face concerning "JUDGMENT." So I explained it to her in a way she would understand.

Hypothetically, say her brother pinched her and then took her cell phone away. Naturally, she would call for my help. I would have to make a decision based on what is RIGHT. It is right for me to tell her brother to first, apologize; second, give her phone back. Then, I would decide a proper punishment for him to learn not to pinch her again.

In this case, JUDGMENT wasn't a bad thing. (My daughter certainly would agree.) She was the one wronged and my judgment call brought balance, brought equity, made things RIGHT AGAIN. For my son, judgment might momentarily seem like a bad thing because of the consequences for wrong doing. But, my responsibility as a good parent, in the long run, helps him too. By me making right decisions based on fairness --what is right-- brings harmony and peace to my home. As a good parent, my judgments bless my son as well. He begins to understand the benefits the next time when my daughter might be the one who's in the wrong. My judgments by no means says whom I love the most--they are both my children and I love them equally.

Without JUDGMENT my home and yours would be CHAOS. Likewise, situations without God's judgments are chaotic; however, when God decides what is right and wrong, His judgments bring peace and right-ness. We can rest assured, as God's children, that whatever He decides is right for us is better than anything we would choose for ourselves.