Judgment
We tend to judge people for a variety of reasons.
Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgement on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgement on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Why do you pass judgement on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise toGod.’ So then, each of us will be accountable to God. - Romans 14:1-12
It is so easy to judge others, isn't it?
We see someone on the street holding a paper cup looking for spare change and we immediately pass judgment on him. I could never do that, we tell ourselves. I would never let myself get to that point, so we believe.
The right response is to have compassion, but compassion comes from love, and who starts out from a position of love these days?
Paul talks about people being weak for eating only vegetables and I don't think that is a judgment on his part, but more an observation. He is picking something common to help us see how judgmental we are of people because of their choices.
We all make choices in life and we deal with the consequences, but sometimes the consequences are too great to bear.
That is when we need help, compassion, love.
If we could put ourselves in the shoes of the one we judge, perhaps we would see his fate differently. That is what Paul asks us to do.
It is what Jesus was able to do. And those small acts of compassion hold the power to change the world.
More to come...