As Easy As Picking On Kids in a Park

James 4:11-12

 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹² There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

-The Mosaic Law consisted of 365 negative commands and 248 positive for a total of 613 commands. It was the Law God gave to Israel from Moses.

-The issue James is confronting here in 4:11-12 is judging others. If they are speaking evil (gossiping) and judging about one another they are speaking evil of and judging God’s Law. (vs. 11) Only God who is the judge has the freedom to judge. (vs. 12) If He wanted us to judge He would have made us the judge, hence the reason why we are not the judge.

Things are different in our days; we aren’t living by the law anymore, we are living by God and His Word. If you speak harshly of, are rude to, gossip against, or verbally harass someone you are doing the exact same thing to God. We are taking the creators’ creation and assuming we have the right to judge it (whoever or whatever it may be). I was at a park one day and saw someone else’s misbehaving child; he was throwing sand at the slide, so I went up to him and started yelling at him. I told him mean things, I was judging him, I was being rude, I wanted him to feel bad for what he was doing, and then I went home and gossiped about what he had done. I did not have the right to jump into this child’s life and beat him up like that or go home and talk bad about him, I was not his mother, it was a sin to use those harsh words, and it was not my place. Now if this story was true, and his parents were watching, I probably would have gotten into some kind of trouble. But this is what James is getting at; we do not have the freedom to treat others like that (whether they are close friends, family, boyfriend/girlfriend, or strangers). It is not our place to be mean, gossip against, or judge others. God is the only one who can and will judge someone, and it might be you if you are trying to take God’s role and judge someone. 

Questions:

1.   Can you think of someone you have spoken harshly to or about? Is there some way you can apologize to them? Or maybe you need to bring it up before God first, and then figure out how to make it right with that person.

2.   Do you feel bad for gossiping? If yes, why? If no, then ask God to help you feel compassion for His people and to break your heart for what breaks His.

3.   What verses could you start memorizing to help you fight the battle against gossip? ( Example: Ephesians 4:29, Matthew 12:36, Psalm 101:5, Proverbs 16:28)

4.   Challenge: The next time you start to judge someone, examine your own heart before you judge theirs. Ask yourself how you could be an encouragement to them instead of an abuser and try praying for them.

Matthew 7:2-4 "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?…”

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Written by Sarah Davis