Judging a man

If you know me very well, you know that I love coffee! Yes, I am an addict for sure. I have been drinking more of it as I work long hours at the job. Working a lot also makes it hard to write a blog I do admit, but the Lord placed something on my heart. So grab a cup of coffee and let us dig in!
How do we judge a man? The bible says "you shall know them by fruits".  Matthew 7:16
If you read that chapter, you will see that Jesus was talking about wolves in sheep's clothing. He is also spoke of good trees producing good fruit and bad trees producing bad fruit. Basically, the holy spirit gives us discernment to know what's going on. It does not mean we condemn a person.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Ok, let's look at this: "Judge not lest you be judged". We can look at someone's sin and condemn them. We might think we are better or we don't do the things they do, right? We KNOW that sin is sin, and we aren't better than anyone else.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Only by God's grace, "for all have sinned, and have fallen short of the glory of God".
So, when we carry on about someone else and their problems, we are in the wrong. We are in sin, it's called gossip and slander or best known as judging.
"You shall know them by their fruits". It's not wrong to look at a situation and discern what is happening. You decide when your children do not need to be around a stranger. You decide it's best not to place yourself in a bad situation.
We judge things or people to make sure we protect what the Lord has given us. We want to be holy and righteous and have a clean heart before God.
"Create in me a pure heart oh God, and renew a right spirit in me. Cast me not away oh Lord, and take not thy holy spirit from me."
It's a beautiful thing to live for the Lord. It is a sweet life that the Lord has given us. Know that God expects us to judge and discern our surroundings with a pure heart and a right spirit, he gave us a brain and some common sense! Just don't look down on people because of their problems or their past. A person's past can definitely change your view of someone. So examine their fruit, now, in the present, is it good or bad? Do not let a first impression be the last impression of a person. Know them by their fruits.