1 Corinthians 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Do you know the definition of iniquity? I thought I did, at least I know what I have been taught. So I looked it up in the original Greek to discover I didn’t understand it as well as I thought. This is the primary definition in the New Testament.

Injustice, of a judge.

That got me to thinking about the formation of judgment. Am I an unjust judge? How did I formulated my sense of right and wrong? My natural instinct was to say that my parent taught me right from wrong, but it was not true.

I learned injustice from being treated by others as if I was something other than what I am. Being judged unfairly teaches you injustice. My parents treated me as a son. There is no injustice in that.

Psalm 58:1 Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?

I have always treated a man as a man and a lady as a lady. My lesson from being parented was to treat people on a basic level, adding nothing. I didn’t paint a man or woman to look a certain way to make myself feel comfortable. That is what I learned about being a judge. It was all about making myself comfortable.

Men of conscience have to be able to live with themselves, but the conscience is nothing more than a reflection of the condition of the heart.

Psalm 58:11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

I can only keep my conscience clean if I leave judgement up to the righteous judge. In that way I avoid being the unjust judge.

1 Timothy 1:5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (ESV)