“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?” Romans 14:4 NIV
“Hold your opinions privately; voice your judgments sparingly.”
My thoughts today are about “opinions and judgments.”
Isn’t it strange how much you or I resent when someone misunderstands and misjudges us, yet we seem fearless to venture our opinion of others as though it were a definitive fact? It would be frightening if God were to judge any one of us as sternly as we readily render judgment of others. Have you ever found later that you had misjudged someone, even though you had previously been so sure that you were right? I have too often found that to be true of my premature judgments of others’ motives, words, or actions. I often did not have all the facts I thought I did.
I was taught a principle many years ago that I wish I had known earlier and followed more carefully. You are not to judge where you do not rule! Such a simple rule, but seemingly so difficult for any of us to follow. You must not intrude your judgment on that which is under another’s authority, lest you bring yourself under God’s stricter judgment. You can only judge where you have been clearly given the responsibility of authority. And really, there are not many people who come under your authority in any, let alone every area. You don’t have to believe every feeling or voice every thought you have, nor is every thought healthy for you or opinion helpful to others. Hold your opinions privately; voice your judgments sparingly.
You will have opinions about many things as well as people; just be aware that your opinion is just that, an opinion not absolute fact. Beware when feelings push your opinions to be treated as infallible – that becomes judgment that is forbidden. Soften your conclusions about what others have said or done, or why you think they did so; leave ample room for your possible error. And be gracious even when you assume you are right. It would be kinder to hope your opinion is wrong, rather than gathering every supporting fact to be right.
Jesus taught, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged. Whatever measure you use in judging others will be used to measure how you are judged.” Matthew 7:1 NIV/NLT. If you think about Jesus’ words, you should be amazed, and alarmed. God allows you to set a measure of the judgment you will face. I admit that I do not fully know all that means or how it applies. But somehow, yours and my judgments establish a standard that God and others will apply to ourselves.
Here is the Bible’s summary of this, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand . . Why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat . . so then, each of us will give an account of himself 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 your brother’s way.” Romans 14:4/10-13 NIV.
My prayer for you today is: be gracious in opinions and cautious about judgments.