Scripture – “You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ” So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”
Romans 14:10-13 NIV
Observation – Paul is telling us not to judge our brothers and sisters and treat them with contempt. He says it again, therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another.
Application – Jesus says in John 7:24, “Stop judging by mere appearances and make a right judgement.” Paul tells us not to judge and Jesus tells us to make a right judgement. Paul is instructing us not to judge people on secondary issues and to consider where people are in their spiritual journey with God. Jesus is telling the religious leaders to look past the law and think about the intent behind the law. We all need to be very careful about making judgements and verbalizing them until we have all the facts. Speaking about matters that you know very little about can cause pain to others, create rumors and damage your reputation.
Prayer – Lord Jesus, help us to resist the desire to air our opinions when we don’t know what we are talking about, and even when we do, help us to not talk about others in a negative way. Amen.
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