But as for you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you as well, why do you regard your brother or sister with contempt? For we will all appear before the judgment seat of God. For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, to Me every knee will bow, And every tongue will give praise to God.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14:10-12
How often do you consider “why” you do the things you do? This question goes beyond the surface and looks at our hearts. When Paul addressed the issue of judgment, he went to the heart level, asking questions of why. He reminded his audience that passing judgment on others would only hurt them in the end.
We all will stand before the judgment seat of God and give an account for the way we lived without comparison to any other person. When we focus on judging others, we miss Christ’s invitation to repent and be changed by Him. After all, apart from Christ taking our place and changing our hearts, we have no standing before God—our offenses are too many and our case is hopeless. Resisting judgment does more than help us treat others with grace and mercy; it is also a reminder of the grace and mercy we have received. The long and hard work of looking deeper, whether asking “Why?” to discover our motivation or pausing to look at our own sin before we approach others, is worth it. One day we will all stand before God and the only plea we will have is that Jesus has done what we could not do, so that we might receive what only He deserves. In light of this, we can live graciously with others now, even when they don’t deserve it either.
- How does reflecting on Christ’s love for you change your view of others?
- How does this reminder of our ultimate judgment change the way you look at judging others? How does it change the way you evaluate yourself?
- Pray and ask God to open your eyes to where you need to grow and be changed by His grace.
