Romans 7-16
"Overcome Evil with Good"
Materials: small sticker, piece of paper, tape, video: "Looking Through Windows"
Opening Song: "Lord I Would Follow Thee" (Hymnal, 220)
Opening Prayer:
Scripture: Matthew 7:1-2 1 aJudge not, that ye be not bjudged.
2 For with what ajudgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what bmeasure ye mete, it shall be cmeasured to you again.
Attention Activity:
Watch the video "Looking Through Windows" found on churchofjesuschrist.org . Why did the woman keep looking through her window? What does it mean to judge others?
** This lesson has several quotes. You may want to print them out and have family members read them aloud to engage them in the lesson.
Lesson:
When Paul was writing to the saints in Rome he told them that it is wrong to judge others. Read Romans 14: 13 "Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."
Sometimes we assume things about people based on their appearance. Sometimes we criticize someone when they make choices we don't agree with. This is judging others. It can become easy for members of the church to judge others because we set such high standards for ourselves. When others aren't living our same standards, it can be easy to think negatively about them. This is not what the Heavenly Father wants us to do. Not everybody shares our standards and we can never fully understand someones circumstances. Only Jesus is allowed to judge others because only he knows their hearts. “Do we judge one another? Do we criticize each other for individual choices, thinking we know better, when in fact we rarely understand another’s unique circumstance or individual inspiration? ... Such judgments, and so many others like them, rob us of the good part, that pure love of Christ.” Bonnie D. Parkin, Ensign, Nov 2003 © Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Just like sister Parkin said, when we criticize others, we are not showing love. When you judge someone unrighteously you invite the spirt of contention into your heart. Paul counseled, "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another."
Sometimes we do have to make judgements. The Savior called this making "righteous judgements." “You need to make judgments of people in many of your important decisions, such as choosing friends, voting for government leaders, and choosing an eternal companion. Judgment is an important use of your agency and requires great care, especially when you make judgments about other people. All your judgments must be guided by righteous standards. Remember that only God, who knows each individual’s heart, can make final judgments of individuals (see Revelation 20:12)” True to the Faith © Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. When we go to make decisions about friends and relationships those decisions should come from a place of understanding and never from a place of criticism.
Activity:
The Savior warned us about judging others when He taught the Sermon on the Mount. Read Matthew 7: 2-5. Place a small sticker next to the eye of one family member. Explain that this sticker represents a "mote" which is like a splinter. Then take a piece of paper and tape it to the face of another family member. The paper represents the beam.
Ask the "beam" family member to try to remove the sticker from the "mote" family member. Did you feel foolish pulling off the sticker with that big paper on your face? It is just as foolish to judge other’s faults unrighteously while attempting to cover up or hide our own faults. Let us not look foolish! Instead be humble and recognize and work on overcoming our faults. Then, with love and compassion, we can help others.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated: “This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following:
'Stop it!'"
If we apply the counsel of Elder Uchtdorf to "stop it," we will be able to open our eyes to see the good in others. We will be able to be more understanding, compassionate, and charitable towards others.
Closing Song: "Kindness Begins With Me" (Children's Songbook, 145b)
Closing Prayer:
Refreshment: Texas Sheet Cake Cookies Recipe These are awesome. I doubled the cookie part of the recipe when I made them because the yield is a little small.
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