Keep your friends from the dark side

Sometimes we see a friend’s actions or attitudes, and we can immediately recognize that they are inappropriate, sinful, selfish, or hurtful in some other way. We judge their actions as being wrong. The bible speaks about this kind of judging. The bible refers to it as correcting, or admonishing. There are a few things to keep in mind though.

• Who do you think we should correct or admonish in this way?  [friends]
• When the bible speaks of this judging, who do you think it is talking about?  [other Christians]
• What is the motivation?  [to help your friend / not to make you look good]

Watch Simon Cowell do some judging:

Simon often seems harsh, but let's look past that for this morning.  He is critiquing, or judging, performances.  The contestants have put themselves in the position to be judged.  Think about these questions:

• Why were Simon and the others hard on the singer?  [because they wanted her to improve]
• Would this be hard to hear from a stranger?
• Even though it would still be difficult, wouldn’t it be more comfortable if your friends corrected you?

Let's watch another example of a person who has gone astray.  See what happens when his friends try to set him back on track.

• When Padme and Obi-Wan judged Anakin’s actions, what was their purpose? [to get Anakin back on track]
• Were they successful?
• We shouldn’t rise to the point of fighting physically like Obi-Wan did, but we should take our responsibility to help keep our friends on track seriously. We should also this keep in mind when our friends try to tell us things that they see in our lives!

Judge:  To hold a conviction after weighing the evidence
God gives us the responsibility to hold convictions and help our friends.


(Make sure to read about all of the types of judging before you judge what is ok and what is not!)