To read: Romans 2:1-11
New Revised Standard Version Bible,Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. You say, "We know that God's judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth." Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. For he will repay according to each one's deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.
There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.
copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
To think about:
It
is human nature to try to pass judgment on other people. There is even a game called "One Up." We feel big when we make others look small. When we judge others, we are playing God and setting ourselves up as better than the person that we are judging. It is when we try to play God that we are sinful.
God looks into all of our hearts, and understands our failings and misdeeds. He does not judge us in comparison to each other, but he judges us in our relationship with him. By grace he offers forgiveness, and his love is merciful.
Over the years, I have been involved in prison ministry. The people in prison have been judged by society as well as the courts for the crime(s) they committed. You and I are like the prisoner in God's eye. We have failed to live up to God's expectation of us. We need to learn to ask for forgiveness and to rejoice when grace and forgiveness are freely given. We need to share the grace of God with all people. We can point out how they may change their behavior (this is the responsibility of a loving parent), but we must never judge them.
To pray:
God of love, we thank you for your grace and forgiveness. Help us not to judge other people, but to show understanding and compassion. Forgive us for our failures, and help us to forgive others. We know that it is by forgiving that we are forgiven. Amen.
St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Arbutus, Md.