Lord Jesus, I confess that I need help from my church family. They can see the blind spots in my life that I cannot see. They have the objectivity I need to find my way in difficult and confusing situations. Above all, their unconditional love and godly faith are indispensable to my growth in the kingdom. Finally, I know they need these things from me as well. Grant me the grace to serve them in humility and gentleness as we all grow up in You.

Judge not, that you be not judged.

The King who sits on the throne has given us the right and the authority to judge. Yet this Scripture passage appears to say that we are not to judge. The context or surrounding discussion tells us this is not a contradiction, but a clarification. We do have the right to judge, but we are not to judge one another. We are to judge the world and the world system.

There is a place for exercising discernment in the body of Christ, however. The prerequisite is this: you must remove the beam or wooden plank from your own eye before you presume to point out a splinter in someone else’s. This rule tends to bring us all back to reality quickly. Examine and judge yourself first, and step in line with God.

Once you do that, you are responsible to look after the welfare of your spiritual brothers and sisters. That does not mean you should make yourself a busybody, a self-appointed “God cop,” or a gossip practicing under the guise of “sharing caring prayer requests.” Anyone who does this will reap exactly what he sows.

When we see those we love falling into sin or struggling with a difficult burden in their walk, we are authori ed to “speak the truth in love” with a pure heart (see Eph. 4:15). We must do this in the compassion, love, and grace of God. Our motivation must not be to pull them down but to lift them up by removing deception and restoring the bonds of unconditional love.