Who Do I Think I Am?

Scripture: Romans 14:1-8

Quite a few years ago I was in a Bible study with some friends. As we were sharing prayer requests, I decided to put myself out there and share a struggle of mine. “Please pray for me because I have a hard time not judging other people,” I said.

I might as well have said, “Please pray for me because I’m a serial axe murderer.”

You could’ve heard a pin drop in the room and I realized then and there that the subject of judging others must be taboo in the Christian world. I’ve felt convicted for a long time to address this topic, so I’m going to address this personal struggle of mine – maybe it’s a struggle you share, too.

If we take a good look at ourselves – a deep look, we would probably all have to admit that we have been guilty of judging others at some point in time. I’ve been on both ends of judgement. I’ve judged others and I’ve been judged. Neither spot is a good place to be.

This morning my son handed me his Teen Study Bible which was open to a devotional called, “Don’t Judge.” It pointed to Romans 14:1-8, so I read this passage. Paul makes it clear that as Christians, we are not to judge other Christians about disputable matters. I believe Paul is talking about matters that are not violating God’s laws in Scripture.

Christians, though we are supposed to be filled with the same grace extended by God through Jesus, are often the first to judge. If we are convicted about something, we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that everyone around us should be convicted about that same thing.

In this Romans passage, Paul cuts to the chase about judging others. He says, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”

In Gretchyn’s Paraphrase Bible (GPB – ha!), this verse would read, “Who do you think you are judging other people? Only God can judge. So, zip it and let the Holy Spirit do His work.” Do you think I’m going to get a paraphrase Bible published any time soon? Me either!

When we are tempted to judge someone about a disputable matter, we need to take a big, huge, gigantic step back. By judging others, we are really saying that we know the will of God in someone’s life better than the Holy Spirit. Is that truly a place we want to be?

Prayer: Lord, please forgive me for all of the wasted time I've spent judging others. Holy Spirit, please convict me when I am starting to judge someone else and remind me that You are the judge; not me! I don’t want to cause dissention in the church body. I want to encourage others and not judge them. Thank you for the example You set of grace through Your Son Jesus. I want to extend grace to others just as You extended grace to me!