Another Master

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4)

I just noticed something very interesting in this verse that I don't yet know quite how to relate to or some of the possible implications. The way this is worded strongly implies the potential possibility to assume that the person I may be judging has a different Master than I do. That is denoted in the word another. But at the same time this conflicts with the belief that in the body we all serve the same Master. But in this verse Paul says that the other person I am tempted to judge as inferior to me has their own Master and that Master is the Lord Himself. So where does that leave the identity of the master that I claim to be serving?

Maybe this is a strong warning shot across the bow so to speak. Paul is not explicitly stating that I am serving the wrong master whenever I find myself criticizing others, but this certainly leaves the door wide open to that possibility. And that makes sense too, for Paul himself is not into judging the way he is warning us about so he will not engage in judging what master I am serving whenever I view others with contempt. He is letting me figure that out for myself.

Jesus stated unequivocally that He did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save us. (John 3:17) So if I engage in any kind of false judging which involves contempt or criticism of another person then I am not being motivated by the Spirit of Jesus. And if that is true, then what spirit is motivating me whenever I find myself finding fault in others?

What I am seeing in this chapter is addressing this problem that I struggle with in my relationship to the local church in particular as well as my generational issues that have affected very many of my relationships all of my life. Counterfeit judgment is a problem that suffocates the work of the Spirit of Jesus in the body of Christ and limits His ability to work in and through us efficiently to demonstrate the truth of God's glory through His body on earth. I want to become completely free from these contaminating influences that are rooted and thrive in my flesh. But this must involve much more than simple intellectual acknowledgment and understanding of what the problem or solution is but has to involve absorbing the essence of this truth at the heart level.

The good news is that God does not cease being my true Master whenever I slip into a spirit of fault-finding and negative thinking about others. While He is clearly not the one providing the motivation for the kinds of activities I am engaged in, He also does not abandon me but provides even more grace to give me opportunity to see His kindness and repent and be transformed. Even while I am in the midst of the very act of fault-finding in others the Holy Spirit is present to convict me of my complicity in damaging the work of God in their hearts.

Most of the time my flesh is very eager to construct justification for the criticism that I am eager to dish out. I can label it “calling sin by its right name” or “standing in defense of the truth” or any other number of very appealing justifications. But whenever I feel the need to justify myself it is very likely that there is something inside of me desiring to hide from the light of the Spirit. What I am saying about others may be ever so true and may even have the support of many around me, but if it is motivated by a self-justifying spirit within my own heart then no matter how “right” I may be, in the eyes of heaven I am not in harmony with God's work and God's ways.

This verse tells me very bluntly that those that I find myself judging and condemning are in fact people who can stand in spite of my withering effects because the Lord is able to make him stand. That is very good news if I am on the receiving end of contempt and criticism, but what does it say about me when I am on the giving end? I really do want to have this truth embedded firmly into my character, not just learned by my mind as something important to share with others. I want to reflect the true Spirit of Jesus in my life and that means that I need to stop all judgment that I do of others around me no matter how right I may be or faulty they may be. God is able to make them stand and that person is accountable to Him – totally – not to me.

As I meditate and ponder on this I start to perceive that whenever I view others with self-righteous contempt I am really secretly trying to become their master myself in place of God. I want to control them. Wow! What an indictment. Of course, I never admit that my spirit of criticism is self-righteous contempt because that would be too obvious for even my own mind to get away with in the presence of my conscience. So my wrong spirit has to be first dressed up in righteous self-justification and my image has to be polished to look like I am really working to promote God's cause in my efforts to clean up sin in the church or help others see their faults so they can improve their lives. But this is all self-deception which lies at the heart of all contempt and judging and pervades nearly every relationship that I can think of. It is simply inherent in the way the sinful flesh operates all the time.

The previous verse tells me something very important that I need to remember whenever I am tempted to view myself better than someone else. It says that God has accepted this person that I am criticizing. But inherent in the very spirit that I am engaging in I am not accepting them. That means that I am not in harmony with the Spirit of God so I must be synchronizing with a counterfeit spirit that is divisive. Again, no matter how “right” I may be or how much proof I can produce to justify my comments about them, I am out of sync with the Spirit of God and am thus working against what His Spirit is trying to accomplish in that other person's life.

Interestingly, in the very midst of writing this I was in the middle of a situation where this was being demonstrated. I was tempted very much to criticize the other person and find fault with what they were saying about others in a spirit of self-justification, but the Holy Spirit was prompting me to listen more to Him and to think clearly about what I am looking at here in relation to what was happening. It is a time of heart education as much as mind education which is the most important part of my mentoring process under God. So I chose to just listen and not comment on what was being said and asked God to give me the perception of heaven as to what was really going on.

Lord, I ask You to be my mentor and inspiration today. I know there is going to be many temptations to judge others and secretly view them with contempt from a self-righteous spirit. But You are the only example of real righteousness and I want to only be a reflector of Your love and grace. Please fill me with Your Spirit and keep me in Your will and ways today for Your name's sake. Thank-you for accepting me and for accepting those around me in Your embrace and affirmation. Give me the eyes and heart of heaven as I meet Your servants today and keep me from viewing them through my prejudices. You are the only One who can make us stand, and when we stand in You we also will find that we stand together with each other even though we perceive things differently. Glorify Your name in my life today and help me keep my focus on Your face.

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