Friday, January 21, 2022

1 Corinthians 11:29-32 -- On Judging Ourselves

"For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."
1 Corinthians 11:29-32


Well, first of all, eating and drinking damnation sounds really bad, and I imagine it tasting awful as well, although it could be one of those deceptive things that tastes sweet, but the aftertaste burns out your insides or something. Either way, ugh. That first verse is talking about taking the sacrament, and doing it worthily, sincerely considering Christ and all he did for us. I like how that idea leads into the idea that if we would judge ourselves that the Lord wouldn't need to judge us. In that case, maybe we could just self-correct and do better. Unfortunately, we normally hang onto our errors far too dearly.

The Lord chastens up to help us realize where we are going wrong and how to make course corrections that will get us back to him and to heaven. Today, let's listen to that kind correction and take it to heart, and as much as we can, let's judge ourselves... not in a way that leaves us feeling pathetic and hopeless, but in a way where we recognize what went wrong and are determined and hopeful that we can do better next time... the same way God corrects us. :) As we learn to do so, the less we will hear admonishment from God and the more we will feel his praise and enjoy his blessings. God loves us either way, but he doesn't loves us in a thoughtless way where he will leave us to destroy ourselves, but like a father and a friend, he seeks to save us and correct us so that we don't have to suffer. Let's turn to him and seek to do better.

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