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Don’t Judge Me Because I Sin Differently Than You! · ToddTalks--Spirit By Design: Your Weekly Survival Guide

0:30
SPEAKER_00: There is a strange thing that happens or can happen in Christianity.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: We can become really good at recognizing sin as long as it's somebody else's.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: You see, we see somebody struggling with anger and think, how could they be like that?
0:51
SPEAKER_00: We see somebody struggling with pornography and think, how could they possibly do that?
0:57
SPEAKER_00: We see somebody drinking, gossiping, lying, cheating, losing their temper, neglecting their family, struggling with money, or making choices that violate standards that we hold, and suddenly we feel morally superior.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: But then we forget something.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: The thing that we forget is the fact that somebody else's sin is different from yours, or the fact that somebody else's sin is different from yours does not make you more righteous than they.
2:00
SPEAKER_00: In 7.2 it says, For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again.
2:12
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
2:14
SPEAKER_00: It's very simple.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: It's a sobering principle, isn't it?
2:20
SPEAKER_00: The way we judge others is how we're going to be judged.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: The measure I use on other people may become the measure I ask God to use on me.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: Is that something I want?
2:37
SPEAKER_00: Am I too judgmental?
2:40
SPEAKER_00: These are questions we should be asking ourselves.
2:43
SPEAKER_00: Jesus gives us one of the most memorable memored images in all of Scripture.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: He says, Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
2:58
SPEAKER_00: And then he says, Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the moat of thy brother's eye.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: Matthew 7, 3 through 5.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: Notice something.
3:15
SPEAKER_00: Other people really do have issues.
3:19
SPEAKER_00: They really may have a problem.
3:21
SPEAKER_00: The issue is that we are often more interested in identifying their problem than confronting our own problems.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: That's the danger.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: Because sin can actually become a source of pride.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: Not the sin itself, our ability to point out somebody else's sin.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: I can look at somebody else's weakness and feel strong because I don't struggle with that particular weakness.
3:46
SPEAKER_00: But God doesn't grade us on the curve against somebody else's weakness.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: Your sin might look different.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: It might.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: In fact, it probably does.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: We all sin.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: One of my favorite quotes is don't judge me because I sin differently than you.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I don't struggle with addiction, but I struggle with pride.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I don't struggle with pornography, but I struggle with lust.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I don't struggle with anger, but I destroy people with sarcasm.
4:27
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I don't struggle with alcohol, but I am addicted to approval.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I don't steal money, but I steal somebody's reputation through gossip.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I don't break the word of wisdom, but I break the commandment to love my neighbor.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I am faithful in church attendance, but I'm constantly judging the people who aren't.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I'm faithful in church attendance and judging the people who are there.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I'm disciplined physically, but I secretly believe that people who aren't disciplined are inferior to me.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: So here's the question, and it may be uncomfortable.
5:05
SPEAKER_00: What if the thing I am most proud of, avoiding, is being replaced by a different sin that I don't recognize?
5:13
SPEAKER_00: Paul warned, he said, in Romans 2 1, therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest.
5:26
SPEAKER_00: Now, the old time language is a little harder to understand and it's strong language, but Paul is saying, isn't saying morality doesn't matter.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: He's saying you don't get to use somebody else's failure as evidence of your own righteousness.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: Now, let's be clear, Christ doesn't ask us to call sin good.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: That's not the message.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: The message isn't nothing is sinful.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: That's not Christianity.
5:55
SPEAKER_00: There are standards.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: The gospel has standards, God has commandments.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: We're supposed to distinguish good and evil.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: The Joseph Smith translation makes an important clarification of Matthew 7.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: Instead of simply saying judge not, it says, judge not unrighteously that ye be not judged, but judge righteous judgment.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: So Christianity isn't moral relativism.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: We don't say everybody does their own thing and nothing matters.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: We say truth matters, sin matters, repentance matters, covenants matters, so does mercy.
6:36
SPEAKER_00: And perhaps most importantly, I'm not God.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: I don't know everything about another person's story.
6:43
SPEAKER_00: I don't know their wounds.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: I don't know their temptations.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: I don't know their upbringing.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: I don't know their background.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what they're privately fighting.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: I don't know how many times they have tried to change.
6:55
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what happened five minutes before I encountered them.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: And I certainly don't know the condition of their heart.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: That's God's area and his responsibility to know, not mine.
7:09
SPEAKER_00: Although Ulysses Suarez taught that we should never make harsh or cruel judgments of our neighbors because we all need understanding and mercy from Heavenly Father.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: He also reminded us that appearances can be deceptive and that we don't understand all the circumstances contributing to someone's behavior.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: Christ does.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: That's the difference.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: I see behavior, Christ sees the heart.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: I see the moment, Christ sees the entire story.
7:38
SPEAKER_00: I see the failure, Christ sees the potential.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: I see the weakness, Christ sees the child of God underneath that weakness.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: If I'm going to become more like Christ, I have to learn to see people differently.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: That's not always easy.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: No, I I tend to think of things a little differently.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: And I I remember one of my favorite quotes, I'll get it wrong, I don't remember exactly who said that, but it was one of the general authorities, one of the apostles.
8:13
SPEAKER_00: And I remember him saying, I look forward to the day when a smoker, a drinker, a prostitute, a pious young man or young woman, and every other type of sinner can be sitting in church together trying to become better because the church is a hospital for people that want to get better.
8:46
SPEAKER_00: President Dallin H.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: Oaks gave some incredibly important instruction on this subject.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: He explained that there are judgments we need to make in life, but there is a difference between intermediate judgments and final judgments.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: We may need to determine to determine whether a situation is safe.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: We may need to determine whether behavior is wise.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: Parents must make judgments.
9:11
SPEAKER_00: Leaders need to make judgments, disciples need to make judgments.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: But President Oakes taught that righteous intermediate judgments should be guided by the spirit rather than anger, jealousy, revenge, or self-interest.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: He also taught that whenever possible, we should judge situations rather than people.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: That distinction can change your life.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: Instead of he's a bad person, try to think that behavior is harmful.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: Instead of she's selfish, try that decision was selfish.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: Instead of they aren't good Christians, try thinking, I don't agree with that choice.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: Why?
9:55
SPEAKER_00: Because one statement condemns a person's identity, the other evaluates their behavior.
10:02
SPEAKER_00: And there's a massive difference between judging the person and judging the behavior.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: Look at the Savior.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: Christ was absolutely uncompromising about truth, but he was remarkably compassionate towards sinners.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: He ate with them, he spoke with them, he touched people others wouldn't touch.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: He defended people, others condemned.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: He called people to repentance without treating them as worthless.
10:31
SPEAKER_00: Think about the woman taking in adultery.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: The crowd wanted condemnation.
10:35
SPEAKER_00: The crowd wanted to stone her to death as was part of their culture.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: Jesus offered something different.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: He didn't say your sin doesn't matter.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: After the crowd dispersed, he told the lady, Go and sin no more.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: That's Christianity right there.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: Grace doesn't pretend sin isn't real.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: Grace tells the sinner, your sin is real, and so is your possibility of becoming something more, something better.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: Growth is always possible.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: So here, what I think we need to uh confront is sometimes we don't actually want people to repent.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: We want them to feel guilty enough to know that we are better than they are.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: That's not discipleship, that's pride wearing religious clothing.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: President Dieter F.
11:27
SPEAKER_00: Uchdorf once taught powerfully about the tendency to criticize, gossip, ridicule, hold grudges, and want to harm and want harm for others.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: His answer was simple.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: Stop it.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: You like that?
11:44
SPEAKER_00: Stop it.
11:45
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes, spiritual breakthrough isn't another theological argument.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it is stop judging, stop gossiping, stop comparing, stop keeping score, stop using somebody else's weaknesses to make yourself feel strong.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: How many of us are guilty about that?
12:10
SPEAKER_00: Imagine two people standing before God.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: One says, Father, I didn't commit the sins that person committed.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: The other says, Father, I failed.
12:18
SPEAKER_00: I struggled, I sinned, but I kept coming back to Christ.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: Which one do you think is safer?
12:25
SPEAKER_00: The second person may actually understand the gospel better.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: Because Christianity isn't fundamentally the story of people who don't sin.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: We all sin and fail to live up to the glory of God.
12:40
SPEAKER_00: It's a fact.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: Christianity is the story of people who need a savior.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: That includes me, you, and includes the person that you're judging.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: Elder Dale G.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: Renlin taught to be Christ-like, a person loves mercy.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: And he explained that people who love mercy are not judgmental but show compassion towards others.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: That's important.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: Mercy isn't weakness.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: Mercy is strength under control.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean abandoning standards.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: It means remembering that the person standing in front of you is somebody Christ died for.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: Instead of thinking, why can't they just get their life together?
13:31
SPEAKER_00: I can ask, what are they carrying that I can't see?
13:37
SPEAKER_00: Instead of, I would never do that.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: I can say, Lord, thank you for protecting me from that temptation, and please help me recognize the temptations I don't see.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: We talk a lot on Todd Talks about spiritual fitness.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: So here's today's test.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: When somebody sins differently than you, what happens inside you?
14:00
SPEAKER_00: Do you feel superior?
14:02
SPEAKER_00: Do you gossip?
14:03
SPEAKER_00: Do you immediately assume you know their heart?
14:06
SPEAKER_00: Do you distance yourself?
14:07
SPEAKER_00: Do you mentally write them off?
14:10
SPEAKER_00: Or do you do you remember, there but for the grace of God go I?
14:16
SPEAKER_00: Not literally that I would necessarily commit the same sin, but that I am also dependent on the atonement of Christ every single day.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: So here are five questions to ask before judging someone.
14:31
SPEAKER_00: One, do I know do I actually know the facts?
14:35
SPEAKER_00: Or am I just filling in the blanks?
14:38
SPEAKER_00: Two, am I judging a behavior or condemning a person?
14:43
SPEAKER_00: Three, is this judgment within my stewardship?
14:47
SPEAKER_00: Do I have responsibility for this?
14:49
SPEAKER_00: Parents have responsibilities to judge their children.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: Four, am I being guided by the Spirit or by pride?
14:59
SPEAKER_00: Would I say this if Christ were standing beside me?
15:02
SPEAKER_00: And five, am I offering mercy because I need mercy?
15:08
SPEAKER_00: Eventually, every one of us will stand before the perfect judge, and I want to meet that judge having learned something about mercy.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: Jesus gave us the answer immediately after teaching about judgment.
15:21
SPEAKER_00: He said, Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: Matthew 7, 12.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: So when you think about it, the golden rule, do unto others before they do unto you.
15:38
SPEAKER_00: Just kidding.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: Teaches us how do you want people to respond when you've when you fail?
15:51
SPEAKER_00: Teaches us how do you want them to respond when you relapse into old weaknesses?
15:57
SPEAKER_00: When you want them to how do you want them to respond when your faith is weak?
16:01
SPEAKER_00: How do you want them to respond when you make a terrible decision?
16:05
SPEAKER_00: Do you want someone standing over you saying, I told you so?
16:09
SPEAKER_00: Or do you want someone reaching out a hand and saying, Come on, let's get back up?
16:15
SPEAKER_00: That's the person that we should become.
16:19
SPEAKER_00: Maybe the greatest evidence that we are becoming like Jesus isn't that we have fewer sins to point out.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's that we have less desire to point them out.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: Because we're becoming more aware of our own need for grace.
16:32
SPEAKER_00: We're becoming more interested in redemption than condemnation.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: And we're more interested in restoration than humiliation.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: The Savior didn't say find people who sin differently than you and separate yourself from them.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: He said, love one another as I have loved you.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: And that is the standard.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: So the next time you see someone struggling with something you don't struggle with, stop for a second.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: Don't compare, don't condemn, don't gossip.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: Just don't assume you know their hearts.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: Instead, remember they are a child of God.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: Christ died for them just as he died for you.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to become more righteous or you don't become more righteous by discovering that somebody else is less righteous.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: You become more Christ-like when you help somebody else find their way back to him.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: This week, if you catch yourself judging someone, replace the thought with of what's wrong with them with what would Jesus want me to see.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: Then pray in your soul, Father, help me see this person the way you see them.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: Help me judge righteously with truth and mercy, and help me recognize the beam in my own eye before I become obsessed with somebody else's boat.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: Because the goal isn't to become better at judging sinners, the goal is to become more like the Savior who came to save them.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: That includes you, that includes me, that includes everybody around us.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: This is Todd Talks, Spirit by Design, where I help you design your spiritual life in preparation for the Lord's second coming.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: If this episode was beneficial to you, feel free to leave a five-star review, subscribe to the channel so you don't miss any new episodes that come out.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: And as always, have a blessed day.