Objection

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

A while back I sat in a courtroom to support a friend. I found it fascinating, not because of the issue being addressed, but because of the judge. Well paid lawyers were trying to introduce pieces of evidence. Every now and then they would disagree and say, “Objection!” At times they would then try to convince the judge as to why they objected. He wasn’t having it. He would say something like “What is the reason. I want one of these reasons stated in one word, Relevance, Hearsay, Ambiguous, etc.” Apparently, only one-word reasons were allowed that day. More often than not, once they said “Relevance” or whatever one word reason they sighted, he would simply say “Overruled.” Move on, in other words.

When I got home, I told my wife I wanted to be a judge. Without hesitation she said, “You would be terrible at that.” Apparently, I might be too obnoxious to stay as impartial as he did. It did get me thinking about the amount of judging I see and also about the amount of judging I have done in my life.

Sometimes I still do, but as I have gotten a lot closer to 60 than I ever thought about being (I turned 58 this week) I have developed points of view that I never saw coming. I see a lot of gray area in things I used to see as black and white. Examples come to mind in parenting. As a young father I was more strict than I needed to be. Discipline is good, but compliance is not the ultimate goal. A relationship with an adult who is capable of navigating the world after they leave the house is the goal.

I think this same relationship can exist between believers and Jesus. He did not come to regulate compliance. He came to save souls. Part of that journey can make us more capable of navigating the world until He comes back. While it is true He called out behavior at times, His motivation was a changed heart.

That should be our motivation as well. I think too often we look at behavior. We call out some things as sin, and we may well be correct. But we may well be wrong. In the process we sort of get out of alignment with the more important goal of relationship. God says judgement is His. Our job is to love.

Think about it, when your child is born, you know nothing about them. You might be scared to death that you will not be a good enough parent, but you know nothing about how they will think. You know nothing about how they will act, what they will become or what their beliefs will be. All you know is love. The rest is pure hang on for dear life discovery. What a beautiful thing it is to discover another human being.

If my only goal is compliance, there is a 100% chance that I will be disappointed even if only in a little part of them. How can that be a good thing overall? If I teach my kids that compliance is the only thing, I have set them up for failure. I would also put myself in a position of removing my approval from this human being that I loved so much as soon as I knew they existed.

My mom used to know exactly how to turn my behavior “Rick I am disappointed in you.” It worked every time and maybe she overplayed that hand a bit. It still drives me today. I remember as a kid thinking that Judgement Day sounded pretty harsh. You know “every knee will bow” kind of presents an intimidating event. The bible says we will all face it. However, the relationship Jesus wants with us will put Him in the seat next to us as the ultimate defender. Satan may throw evidence up for debate. If I am being honest, in my own mind I bring up my own evidence on a regular basis. But Jesus will have the best objection to my condemnation – and yours if you seek it. Himself. What a beautiful thing it is to discover a Savior.

How hard are you on yourself? Why? Where do you take that judgement?

How hard are you on others? Why? Some people respond well to that, but not all do.

Challenge: Accepting grace. Giving grace. Love each other as Christ first loved us?

Rick Claiborn