Parent Judges

Last night, my son Cameron and I got into it a little when I made a cautionary comment about something he had done.  Then he gave me the response that every parent loves to hear  because it is biblical.  He said, "Dad, don't judge me. You don't know me.  You can't judge me. The Bible says so."  At that point, the paint brush I was holding was jjust about ready to reign down judgment on his skinny self.

I've thought a lot about what the Bible says about judging.  Are we wrong as parents if we warn our children about someone or something and risk being judgmental?  I am no bible scholar, but it is clear to me that we as followers of Christ have an obligation to confront someone on an obvious sin in their lives.  The more important question is the way we do it.  

In the famous passage in Matthew 7, Jesus tells his followers this: ¹"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

 ³"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

In this verse, Jesus doesn't tell us not to judge, but be in the right spiritual mind before we tackle someone else's problem.  We have to realize that we are sinners, seek forgiveness for our sins, turn from acting on our sins, then we are in a place to approach someone else. I also believe it is something we should do hesitantly and with great love and grace.  It also has to be shared with someone we have built a special bond with. There are only two or three guys who can judge me.  When they do, I trust their judgment.

We are also obligated to teach the young, tell them of what God has done in our lives and warn them of the dangers of falling away from Christ.  I think the word discernment is better than the word judge.  When I warn my children about something, I do it from a discerning eye for their protection and safety.  If our kids are hanging out with the wrong people, we still stand strong and pull our kid out of that group.  Are we judging?  Not really.  We are simply carrying out our responsibility as parents to protect our kids based on years of experience.  We have to call it like we see it.

I don't know if I answered my question or not!  But it is something that is worth consideration because it happens almost every day.  We make judgments on people, policies, finances, friends, etc.  I believe that if we are following the Lord, he will help us to avoid harshly judging people and allow us to speak truth in love. 

This whole "judgemen"t thing may be one of the most difficult principles to explain. If you have a thought, share it.