‘Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds : ‘ Romans 2:1-6
We live in a world today, and perhaps it has been so for longer than I recall, where people are so incredibly quick to judge. I know I fall into this trap a great deal, as I am positive, most if not all of you reading do as well. I am so quick to call out issues I find with other people, but, if I’m honest, can attribute to my self. We blame, mistrust, lack confidence in one another, judge, condemn, wish harm on, and just down right regard with suspicion and cynicism I feel like no time I can remember. We even do it routinely with those closest to us. The ones we should most certainly be encouraging, counseling, assisting, guiding, listening to and trusting are often times the ones we are hardest on. It’s a truly awful thing. It’s something I believe most, if not all of us can relate to both as perpetrator and as victim.
I think that most of it flows from perspective. We see the world and others from our own perspective and then the sin of pride and hubris leads us to project that upon others, refuse a path of empathy and compassion and, instead, heap wrath, mistrust and condemnation. Again, this is so awful. And yes, it is shamefully as prevalent in churches and professed “believers” as it is amongst the secular. Actually, I would venture to say I have seen it with more voracity among the former than the latter.
It is one thing to call out a brother or sister in their sin, as we should and are biblically called to. However, it is another thing entirely to elevate oneself and stand in judgement over another. And it is this condition that is being called out by Paul in the above passage. So, I ask you, search your heart, examine your behavior and evaluate just how you tend to view and react to others, their words, actions and deeds. Do you typically meet them with love, compassion and empathy. Or, do you tend to meet them with mistrust, lack of confidence, scorn and malice?
In full pursuit of the greatest Trophy
