HOW'S YOUR JUDGMENT?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Good judgment wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful leads to their destruction.

A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels. 

Proverbs 13:15, 17:24, 18:1

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we go through life, one thing is certain. We will have to make judgments on a multitude of things, mostly regarding our behavior.

We make judgments regarding how we conduct ourselves in work. We make judgments regarding how we manage our money we earn from our work. We make judgments regarding the way we live our personal lives outside of work. We make judgments in how we deal with others in the course of our life’s relationships. And we make judgments regarding what we believe in - our stances on issues of politics, society, and religion.

Yes, we all have to make decisions on how we conduct our life’s activities. But how well do we do in exercising judgment?

As we look at the scriptures, we see that God’s word has something to say about this matter and if it’s important to God then it should be important to us as well. Look at these proverbs and the associated takeaways for us when it comes to exercising judgment:

Good judgment wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful leads to their destruction. Proverbs 13:15

A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth. Proverbs 17:24

An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels. Proverbs 18:1

1. We’re not only expected to exercise sound judgment but we should want to exercise it.

Who doesn’t want to live in God’s favor? I would say only a fool.

With this, one who displays sound judgment in the way they live will win God’s favor. They do so because they opt to seek and follow the Lord’s guidance in all that they do. And with His wisdom as their guide, their judgments will always be pleasing in His sight because He was the One who directed them.

2. Choosing to rely on your own understanding and producing judgments accordingly will result in destruction.

Poor judgments reap disastrous results. We probably have all made one or two in life. I know I have.

The Lord has allowed me to make my own judgments just to show me how much I can mess my life up through doing it and there was never a good outcome when I did not seek the Lord’s guidance and direction.

3. When you exercise sound judgment through seeking the Lord’s counsel first, then you are seen as discerning with wisdom always in view.

The only way to ensure we always have wisdom in sight is to always have the Lord in sight. It’s as simple as that. And when we keep the Lord always in sight, trusting in Him to lead us through every decision we need to make in life, then we will always be viewed as a person of discernment, one who can always be relied upon to make proper judgment on the matters of life.

4. When you fail to fix your eyes on the Lord and seek His advice, then you fix your eyes on the world and make judgments based on its influence.

One thing is certain. The Lord and the world are opposed to one another, especially when it comes to the choices and decisions we are to make. The Lord’s direction will take you in the opposite direction of what the world is opting for. His ways are not the world’s ways and we are not to conform to the world but to the Lord. A worldly person makes worldly judgments; a Godly person makes Godly judgments.

With that, our question for today is simply, “How’s your judgment?”

Is it influenced by the world or is it influenced by the Lord?

There are only two options here. One is foolish and leads to guaranteed hardship. The other results in God’s favor and blessing.

Which choice will you make? I encourage you to make your judgment carefully and allow the scriptures, accompanied by prayer, to influence your decision.

You’ll never go wrong when you do.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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