Matthew 7:1-5 (ESV)
7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Who gets to judge what’s right? Wrong? Who’s sitting in the judgement seat? Who should be? Not me. I doubt that you’re any more qualified than I am. That’s a tough place to be. All this stuff going on that is just nasty. It’s really kind of animal like behavior – king of the hill – whether on the streets, in the boardroom, or in your home. Survival of the fittest.

It’s not supposed to be like this. When God breathed life into Adam and Eve, we were created in His image, and this isn’t his image. It’s time to get back there. Stewardship of everything – social and environmental – that honors and glorifies how God had it planned, and how Christ reiterated the plan. It’s not about judging the merits of your idea vs. mine, it’s about executing God’s plan. That takes out judgement in many things. Let God judge the rest – he’s far more capable.

James 3:7-9 (ESV)
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

We’ve tamed and then over tamed. Our tongues have gone from bad to worse. It’s not a mystery, not new, not anything more than who we are when we walk away from who we were created to be. It’s time to live up to that standard, and the only way to get that done is to follow the leader. Stewardship of all the resources we’ve been entrusted with in the way God designed it, including our tongue. Vituperative is a word that should fall away because it doesn’t apply anymore.

Psalms 55:17
17. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.

He hears us and will bring us to where we are supposed to be. We need to follow him as if we were children, not wise in our own ways, but wise in His. Our ways have gotten us to where we are – you can’t blame Christ, God, or the Holy Spirit for bad in the world. “But why does God allow evil?” A better question is ‘why do we allow evil’? Evil exists, but we can battle evil until it flees to the ends of the earth by following the plan.

Matthew 19:14 (NLT)
14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

Let’s be children, following God with eyes wide open, stewarding as Christ calls us to,, following the plan.