Morning By Morning #164

You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

Daniel 5:27

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

It is a good idea to weigh yourself frequently “on the scales” of God’s Word. You will find it a holy exercise to read a psalm of David and, as you meditate on each verse, to ask yourself, “Can I say this? Have I ever felt as David did? Am I as ever heartbroken over sin as he was when he penned his psalms of repentance? Has my soul ever been filled with complete confidence in times of difficulty as was David’s when he sang of God’s mercies in’the cave of Adullam’ (1 Sam. 22:1) or’ the strongholds of En Gedi’? (1 Sam. 23:29). Do I’lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD’?” (Ps. 116:13).

Next turn to the life of Christ in your Bible and, as you read, ask yourself how far along you are in being “conformed to [His] likeness” (Rom. 8:29). Seek to discover whether you have the same meekness, humility, and the kind spirit continually instilled and displayed in Him.

Finally turn to the epistles of Paul and see whether your life is in agreement with his experience. Have you ever cried out as he did, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death” (Rom. 7:24)? Have you ever felt his self-abasement? Have you ever felt that you were “the worst” (1 Tim. 1:15) of sinners and “the least of all God’s people” (Eph. 3:8)? Have you ever known anything close to his level of devotion to God? Can you join him in saying, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21)?

If we will read God’s Word as a test of our spiritual condition, we will find many reasons to stop and say, “Lord, I have never been here, but take me to this place! Give me true repentance—the kind I see in Your Word. Give me real faith and warmer zeal, ignite me with more fervent love, grant me the gift of meekness—make me more like Jesus. May I no longer be ‘found wanting’ when ‘weighed on the scales’ of Your sanctuary, lest I be ‘found wanting’ when ‘weighed on the scales’ of Your judgment.”

We should judge ourselves so we will not be judged and “found wanting.”

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Many Christians tend to misunderstand Jesus’ admonition: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matt. 7:1). He is not saying not to judge at all, but not to be hypocritical. We are to judge ourselves first before judging others. “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matt. 7:5).

The apostle Paul tells us to judge believers in our fellowship, but to leave the judging of unbelievers to the Lord. “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside” (1 Cor. 5:12 – 13). He goes on to say, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!” (1 Cor. 6:2 – 3).

The best policy, however, is always to search inwardly first. If we are honest with what the Lord exposes in us, we will most likely be too busy to judge others. After all, He can take care of others: “He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth” (Ps. 96:13).