This week’s devotions are based on Week 2 of Rooted – Grounded in Grace (CLICK HERE)
Who are you to judge me?
In our culture today, there is a strong resistance to anyone telling anyone what is right and what is wrong. Even our justice system can fail to arrest and impose a punishment on someone who has committed a crime. Our cultural tendency is to not judge someone. It is perceived as the loving thing to do to allow any behavior and if you speak against it, you are the problem not the person with the problem.
I find this hard to navigate because I see two underlying assumptions about this:
- There are no absolutes to which one is accountable.
- I want the personal independence to act as I feel is best for me. Any imposition on this is charged as judgmental.
Perhaps this is a bigger topic for another day, but these realities keep people from joining a church and practicing their faith “just between me and Jesus.” We don’t want to be accountable to any body of truth and people who uphold it or we simply want the independence to create our own version of Christianity that works for us.
But is this really the best for relationships and especially my relationship with the Lord?
To be sure, we are not to judge in a way that simply feeds my ego and self perception that I am better than someone else. However, at stake in our lives is our eternity with the Lord. Satan is working overtime to subtly deceive and distract us from the truth that is God’s Word and the message of grace through Jesus. He wants us to think we can craft our own religious beliefs without consequence and that God will accept that. It’s just not true.
Which is why we need a Christian community that is willing to bring accountability to my faith and align it with the Word of God.
The Apostle Paul confronted Peter when Peter was succumbing to the culture pressure to make circumcision a requirement for salvation. Galatians 2:11 records, “When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.”
What if Paul never would have confronted Peter? The Gospel would have been clouded over not only for Peter, but for all he influenced.
We are not good personal judges. We like to think of ourselves more perfect than we are and that too can be detrimental. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:31 “But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.” True. Right? If you set your own standards, you never do wrong.
But Christians love the standard of God’s Word and love people who love them enough to ensure they are believing and living the word and ways of the Lord.
Is it easy? No. Is it needed?
Yes. We need Christian relationships and a bible beliving church to be an aid in our path through life to eternity with the Lord. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Yes, don’t judge to build your ego, but surround yourself with people who will judge you measured by the Word of God with genuine love and concern for your soul. And I pray I can be the same for you.
Apply: Perhaps today is a good day to evaluate the reaction of your heart when someone who loves and cares for you points out a behavior that is detrimental. Do you resist it, make excuses for it, or receive it with gratitude and thankfulness that someone cares to help you on your journey with the Lord to heaven?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for my Christian relationships at church that love your Word and help me and others stay close to you and follow you and the objective truth you give and the forgiveness you share. AMEN.