"Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s."
Romans 14:4-8
I like the idea here that we shouldn't be judging people because they are God's servants, not ours. The idea of not judging isn't a new message--we find it many places in the scriptures, but the explanation here is cool.
People respect different holidays and people eat different things. We could go farther with a lot of other ways that we judge others (clothing, music, television, occupation...), but these are plenty for the Lord's examples. Differences aren't reasons to judge others. Even our own favorite personal preferences are not inherently better than another person's personal preferences. We should leave those judgements to God. Why? The great answer here is that "we are the Lord's."
Many things are between ourselves and God, and need to be worked out with him. If there is a commandment about it (like stealing, coveting, or honoring our parents) then of course we should teach God's words to each other, kindly and in the proper context, but in general when it comes to evaluating righteousness, I think we are much better served avoiding judgement, and looking to ourselves--being determined to set a good example and avoid putting "a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in [our] brother’s way" (verse 13).
Today, whatever we eat and whatever day we respect, or what music, clothing, or occupation we choose, let's give thanks to the Lord for his guidance, and perhaps also for the amazing opportunity we have to know different people and to learn to appreciate other perspectives, which can do wonders for our own.
One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s."
Romans 14:4-8
I like the idea here that we shouldn't be judging people because they are God's servants, not ours. The idea of not judging isn't a new message--we find it many places in the scriptures, but the explanation here is cool.
People respect different holidays and people eat different things. We could go farther with a lot of other ways that we judge others (clothing, music, television, occupation...), but these are plenty for the Lord's examples. Differences aren't reasons to judge others. Even our own favorite personal preferences are not inherently better than another person's personal preferences. We should leave those judgements to God. Why? The great answer here is that "we are the Lord's."
Many things are between ourselves and God, and need to be worked out with him. If there is a commandment about it (like stealing, coveting, or honoring our parents) then of course we should teach God's words to each other, kindly and in the proper context, but in general when it comes to evaluating righteousness, I think we are much better served avoiding judgement, and looking to ourselves--being determined to set a good example and avoid putting "a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in [our] brother’s way" (verse 13).
Today, whatever we eat and whatever day we respect, or what music, clothing, or occupation we choose, let's give thanks to the Lord for his guidance, and perhaps also for the amazing opportunity we have to know different people and to learn to appreciate other perspectives, which can do wonders for our own.
No comments:
Post a Comment