In Luke 6:37-38 Jesus states "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Jesus is talking straight to the crowd of his disciples that had came to hear him speak and to be healed of his infirmities. Today, when we read these words, Jesus is again speaking to his disciples, but instead of being on mountain side, it is on main street USA in the local church. Now many of you will read that scripture and say well that doesn't apply to me, but I beg to differ. EVERY MEMBER of the Body of Christ is guilty of this. How do I know, well let me tell you a Little story that I know every one of you reading this should know.
On March 13, 2006 The captains of the Duke Lacrosse Team held a party at their residence in Durham NC. An "Escort" , a black female by the name of Crystal Gail Mangum was hired to be at that party.She arrived at the party and later that night, told the Durham Police Department that she had been raped by three white boy's at the party. This case made National News everywhere. The poor "black" stripper/escort raped and mistreated, even called the "N" word by three spoiled, rich, White boys. These boys, along with the rest of the team at first, were drug through the coals and publicly "prosecuted" in the court of public opinion. The Lacrosse team at Duke had it's coach fired, it's season cancelled and some of them even had to leave school. The Durham D.A. was on every news channel in America it seemed on a daily basis. His career was taking off and the these boys were being arrested.
Now I can remember being in Lawton Oklahoma, at my sons graduation from basic training in October of 2006, sitting at the table in the hotel breakfast area eating a waffle and watching CNN talk about how these boy's deserved everything that they were going to get. How they came from affluent families and had never had to want for anything, and how because of that they figured no one would believe a stripper, especially an African American stripper over them. They made these boys look like the scum of the Earth. But what people had overlooked was that a lot of the evidence, wasn't adding up.And on March 23rd, 2007, Roy Cooper, Attorney General of NC, announced that after his offices investigation, all charges against the three Lacrosse players would be dropped. The Durham D.A. was Disbarred about 3 months later, and eventually convicted of Criminal Contempt.
All of this was great, but you know what, the damage had already been done to these three young men's lives. The year that they spent being raked across the coals, accused in the public eye, being made to look like they were nothing more than Spoiled Rich boys who thought they were above the law, had already taken place. They lost something more than a college education in one of the most prestigious schools in the US. They lost more than being able to play a few Lacrosse games. What they lost was the ability to lead a normal life. You see no matter what they do in life, they will always be known as the young men in the Duke Lacrosse case. There is a Wikipedia page about the case, if you Google the Duke Lacrosse case you will be amazed at how many items about it come up. These boys lost the ability to be just another face in the crowd. And not only them but how many more lives were affected by the lies and accusations of this case?
Now my question to you is this, when you heard about this case, did you pre-judge these boys and had you already convicted them in your mind, based on the information that was given out at the time. I would be willing to say that 96% of the public had already convicted these boys and had them serving life sentences for such a violent crime. But what should our response, as Christians ,been.
Well I know what it should not have been, but I can speak from experience that what it should have been and what it was initially, were two different out looks. I was more guilty than these boys. See I was actually guilty of Judging them and saying things like, that's what spoiled rich kids do, and even though she's a stripper , she didn't deserve to be raped. If we go back and look at Luke 6:37-38 again after we have considered this case, which is just one of millions out there where we judge someone without knowing all the details. We have to take Jesus words to heart if we are going to be a light in this world. How can we expect others not to judge when we are the ones leading the charge. How many times have you seen someone at church not dressed the way you would like, or they don't live in a house like yours. Oh wait they drive a 10 year old car when they can afford a newer one according to you, I mean after all , they make good money right. We do this every day and half the time we don't even realize it.
This subject has been on my mind for several weeks, after watching a friend of mine be judged publicly. Seeing that made me sit back and ask, Lord have I made judged and condemned innocent people simply by not knowing all the facts? And the answer to that was a resounding Yes you have my child. I immediately had to ask him to forgive me because I knew at that moment that Luke 6:37-38 was not just Jesus speaking to his disciples 2,000 yrs ago, it was my Saviour speaking directly to me today. My question to you brothers and sisters is "Have you asked yourself that question, and if you ave what was the answer?'
I pray that if you have heard Jesus speak and say the words "Judge not", that you would listen and take heart, for if the church is to grow and the kingdom of God is to expand outside the walls of the church, we must first stop judging those within it's walls, which in turn will help us not to judge those outside it's walls. Once we do that, then and only then can we see the real need in peoples lives and try to meet that need by telling them about Jesus. If you don't know Jesus as Lord and Saviour of your life, I pray that you wold open your hearts and soul to him this night. If you already have a relationship with Jesus, then I pray that it continues to grow and become stronger by the day, as does your witness. God bless each and everyone of you.
In Christ's Love,
Bro. Bill Roy
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