What Glenn Writes

The local tavern, the Portage Inn, in our small village has a bike night a couple times a week. I’m not sure if it would be called a biker bar or not, as it is more of a local tavern with non-motorcycle riding regulars going there for dinner and drinks. A favorite for many are the cheese balls, real-cheese pizza, and French fries… yes, true vehicles for grease, but delicious just the same.

So, would it be a biker bar, tavern, or diner? Maybe Bikerverner? Tavdiniker?

For my family, Friday nights have become a routine of pizza and a DVD, a family night around the television with a good movie, pizza, and popcorn for dessert. We rarely miss it, and before we celebrate our weekly family night, I usually find myself pulling up a barstool and having a couple of beers while waiting for our pizza.

(Oh gasp!) Now, I know what you are thinking… Yes, I am a believer, an ordained minister, I am constantly talking about my relationship with Jesus Christ, and believe it or not, I also eat pizza. I know some of you may have a problem with a believer eating pizza, but I have not found anything in Scripture about not eating pizza. I don’t really see it as a problem unless, of course, I over-indulge or take it to the extreme… you know, a pizza-addict.

I also know some folks may have a problem with a believer eating cheese balls… again, I have not found where Scripture speaks against those little nuggets of grease. I don’t over-indulge, so I’m not having a problem with it. I guard against the impulse to become a cheese ball junkie.

Perhaps I have been judged for the French fries? I would certainly not eat a French fry in front of someone who has a problem with this sort of potato addiction (a fryaholic?). Scripture does speak against not causing a brother (or sister) to stumble in our behavior. We find Paul speaking about this in Romans 14:21-22.

It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.

So, to be sure, I am aware of my friends and family who may struggle with me eating pizza, cheese balls, or French fries at the local tavern, and I certainly do not indulge in front of them.

I am also aware of an attitude some folks have when they see me wearing my Portage Inn T-shirt and they just know I have eaten pizza, cheese balls, and French fries: I am being judged. I know as a believer, some folks will hold me to a different standard, possibly waiting for me to stumble – even more so as an ordained believer. Fortunately, I stopped seeking their approval quite some time ago; I look for God’s approval only in the eyes of Jesus.

This is liberating, actually. There is freedom when you stop seeking after the approval of others or when their opinions really do not bother you anymore. I found the only way to embrace this is to stop doing what they are doing to me: judging others.

Jesus warns us about this in Matthew 7:1-2

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

I think it is part of our natural self or our fallen nature to judge others or make judgments against others, but to what benefit? Am I trying to make myself feel better about my own inadequacies? Am I reflecting my own sin when I look so desperately for others to sin?

I still catch myself at times, making a quick opinion about someone else before realizing I am judging them.  I found the best thing is to confess my judgment immediately and look for the qualities the Lord sees in the person of my focus. How does Jesus view this person?

We find this answer in His response to a woman others were judging in Luke 7:36-39. This passage begins with:

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,  and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is– that she is a sinner.”

Now watch this… Jesus asks Simon, the Pharisee, a question about forgiveness, with the root of the answer centered on love. Watch how Jesus responds to the Pharisee’s judgment, and more importantly, watch how He responds to the woman in Luke 7:44-48.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven– for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The water for the feet, the kiss, the oil… these were as customary then as offering to take someone’s coat when they visit your house. The point is not what Simon did not do, but more on how Jesus responded to the woman and how He viewed her: with love and compassion.

Careful now, for I am not saying we should ignore sin, but I am saying we should be careful in our judgment of others. We would do good to remember what Paul tells us in Galatians 6:1-2.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Notice the word, “gently”? I believe this is implying we should restore our brothers and sisters with love and without judgment. I believe love overlooks many of the things that are unimportant in the lives of others, things that are none of our business, and things that are between the Lord and them. This is not to say we are to ignore sin, but to recognize we are severely unqualified to judge others, while fully qualified to forgive and accept them (and note: the acceptance is of the person, not the sin).

Have you ever wondered what the church would look like today if there was less judgment and more love for one another? (…not to judge the church, of course…)

I can’t change the focus of others, but I can continue to pray the Lord fills my heart with His compassion. If you want to talk more about this, meet me Friday at the Portage Inn and I’ll buy you a fry… or email me.

Glenn Sasscer

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