VENOM

“Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears, that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be.”
Psalm 58:4-5

Not too long ago, as we were flipping through the channels, my son landed on the Discovery Channel. In some ways I think he takes after me in that he also loves to learn new things. It was while we watched an episode where researchers went out in search of the creature with the greatest amount of venom in its bite, that we both learned a little more about venom. Surly on the list were different types of snakes, spiders, and scorpions. But I was surprised to learn about other creatures such as the blue ringed octopus and cone snail. When all the tests were completed and the rankings shown based on location, interaction with people, aggressiveness, and toxicity, the title of the most venomous creature went to the box jellyfish.
Now while I plan to stay away from this jellyfish, and any other creature that has venom in it, I find that there is one creature not on the list, but just as venomous. That creature is the unjust judge. Psalm 58 starts off questioning, “Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge uprightly among men? No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth. Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.” These lies and judgments are the exact same venoms that come around and bite, injure, and kill the innocent. And as is written, we teach our children at a young age to judge others and go astray as well. Rather than showing them how to use their poison, we should point out to them, and be reminded ourselves, of Matthew 7:1-2. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
In considering further this passage of Psalm 58:4 where we read of the venom of the one who judges, let us take a look also at the thoughts of Matthew Henry. “Though the poison be within, much of it may be kept from breaking forth to injure others. When the Savior's words are duly regarded, the serpent becomes harmless.” So then, how do we become harmless? How do we move from the point of injecting venom to the point of bringing healing? Is not the anti-venom made from the creature’s venom? If the poison kills, then can we use the same method as scientists and use our venom for good instead? Yes, we can.
When I think about this, I think of the cliché, hate the sin and not the sinner. If we are judging a person we are judging the whole of the person, therefore making ourselves the measuring stick. But we cannot hold the position of God. We are told in Galatians 6: 1 that when we see our brother in sin, we are to help him out, not sit there and judge him. Then, with this truth, let us judge the sin of a person against God’s measuring stick, not the person as a whole. For we all, at one time or another, have fallen or will fall into sin. In those moments we do not want to hear how terrible we are. Instead, we must point out the sin and how wrong the sin is. Let us use the venom in us in a good way, as the anti-venom that brings a healing verses judgment.