You who pass Judgment

Romans 2:1

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

Have you ever gotten angry at someone who cut you off in traffic?  Now, have you ever cut someone off in traffic?  Oh, yes, I know, the circumstances were totally different for you than the person who did it to you.  That’s your judgment and you are sticking to it.

But, you say, isn’t everyone entitled to an opinion?  Yes, they are.  But, in exercising your right to have an opinion, you should recognize that you are saying it is ok for people to exercise their right to disagree with you and that they are not stupid or an idiot for doing so.

We judge others when we condemn them in anger; when we want revenge or retribution; when we want to see them suffer.  We judge others when we take an attitude of pride or one-up-manship, when we think “I never would have done that”.  We judge others when we don’t seek to understand why they acted in a certain way.  We judge others when our attitude towards another person’s action is not Christ-like. We judge others when we think their opinions make them stupid or idiotic. 

When we stray from a motivation of love towards others, then we are judging them.  And when we judge others, writes Paul, we are really condemning ourselves….because, we have done or thought the same or similar things.

May the love of Christ be with you

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)