Wednesday December 15, 2021

Let's not judge our brother

One with the conviction of being able to eat anything ; the other, who is weak in faith, eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats of everything despise him who does not, and let not him who does not eat everything judge him who does, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to judge another's servant ? Whether he holds on or falls, it is his lord's business. But it will hold on, for God has the power to establish it. Romans 14: 2-4

Recklessly judging one's neighbor, in thought or in word, is a fault associated with our human nature : this is why no one can boast of never having committed it. The germ of such sin is in all people, although it does not develop in the same way in all. Condemning your brothers without thinking is what you do as soon as you are able to think, and it is often done in the course of a day [...].

Not all judgment is reprehensible. Thus, the magistrate called upon to pronounce on the guilt of an accused, can legitimately fulfill this ministry, which is important for society. The facts on which he must pronounce are material facts, palpable, within the reach of the human eye. By convicting a culprit, he is simply applying a measure that conforms to the rules of society. He does not judge man in himself, he does not appreciate his moral value, he does not put himself, in this respect, either above or below anyone [...].

What is the judgment that is forbidden to us now ? We can learn it from the context of these verses. It is a question of some Christians still weak in the faith [...] who had become the object of hasty and not very charitable judgments on behalf of several other Christians, whereas they were, one and the other, the object of the same grace of God. This was all the more serious since the subjects on which judgments were made did not relate to fundamental problems [...].

Yes, it is God who will judge all men : our brothers and us who judge them. Everything reminds me that I need mercy, that I cannot subsist without it. I needed divine mercy to have my sins blotted out, I still need it for my everyday life. And I must have the same mercy towards my brothers.

According to Alexandre Vinet

Source (Pleasing the Lord)