Do you ever watch an old scary movie? One you have seen before. You watch the character push open the old creaky door, walk down the dark hallway. Tip toe across the floor... and BAM! The killer jumps out.
The whole time you're watching this happen you are screaming at the TV "Don't go down there! What are you doing? The killer is around the corner!"
But the person in the TV can't hear your warning. Sometimes people in our lives are doing the same thing, walking down a dangerous path, but we decide to stay quiet.
A few weeks ago, I was at church and Andy Stanley preached about judging people. The first week of the series he talked to Christians and talked about how it was wrong to judge people outside the church because they didn't agree to the same code of laws that we did. We are supposed to love on those people. I talked about something similar a few weeks ago in "Sinners Like Us."
Anyways, the next lesson was on judging people close to us. Are we supposed to judge anyone? How do we approach people? He then brought up the point that when we see someone doing something wrong and it elicits a response from us, check our motives, figure out what's in us that is causing us to react to someone else's behavior that way.
Finally, he talked about judging people we are close to. If someone we love is going down the wrong path and making a stupid choice, and we know it is a dumb choice, and we are confident that we are upset for the right reasons, it is our job to step in.
Basically, many of us stand behind the statement, "I don't want to judge." Or "I'll just stay out of that, they didn't ask me for my opinion." I'll just "love" on that person and let them go their own way. THAT'S NOT LOVE!
Sometimes love isn't easy, it is not always the warm and fuzzy support, just encouraging people and let them go along as they please. Sometimes love calls us to get involved with people, help them, and step in when they are doing something stupid.
It is a lot easier for us to just stand back when we see a friend making a poor life choice, ruining a relationship, pushing away a family member, than to step in and get messy in their life.
"If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back." -Matthew 18:15 NLT
Did you catch that first part? Some translations don't include "against you." If another believer sins, we are supposed to confront them.
Believe me, no one likes confrontation, I regularly avoid it at all cost. I don't like drama, I don't like to rock the boat, I like to be liked. The truth is, that is not always the Godly thing to do.
There are times when a fellow believer, someone we know and love, someone we are close to, is making a mistake, and we have two choices, step in, or watch it happen and say "I don't want to judge, I'm not here to make their decisions."
We have to step in. I know its not a warm and fuzzy lesson, "Just love people." Yes, just love people, but sometimes loving people means we confront those we love when they are making a stupid mistake.
This is weighing on my heart because I know this happens in my life all the time. I see someone doing something stupid, going down a path I've been down. I remember how much it hurt me and how I wished someone would have stopped me, but I don't do anything and say to myself, "It's none of my business."
It is my business. If it is someone I love and they are making a huge mistake, if I don't step in, who will?
As followers of Christ, we need to help each other, help other believers, help our family, don't judge those outside your circle of relationship, outside your influence. Don't run up to people on the street doing drugs and yell at them, that is not what Jesus is saying.
But those people in your circle of friends. Those people close to you, that you truly love, that you respect, that you don't want to make the same mistake you did, that is who you step in and deal with.
If one of your closest friends is destroying his family, talk to him!
If someone in your family is making a terrible decision, get messy, get in their lives, try to stop them!
Stop letting people ruin their lives around you while you just "stick to your own business."
You have a responsibility to help the ones you love, its not always easy, but if you don't help them, who will?