Judgment, Relationships and Light

For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. (Romans 14:9-10)

This whole passage is a correctionary warning to avoid staying trapped within the false system of the world that I have called “hierarchy” or “kingship”. This is the whole, pervasive mindset of comparing everyone with each other or measuring people according to many and various artificial standards to determine their relative value. It is the acts of discrimination in all of its myriad forms that we daily practice all over the world. It is so ingrained within our psyche that it is difficult to even realize when we are doing it much of the time, but it is part of the problem of judging that is being addressed in this chapter.

But when we begin to measure others, or even ourselves for that matter, instead of accepting God's declarations about our worth and equality in His eyes, then we are indulging in the counterfeit system invented by Satan, the master accuser of the brethren. And in setting ourself up as judge we are also usurping the parental role of our Father in heaven and are trying to claim authority that does not belong to us.

In these verses we are reminded that we are all brothers and sisters in the family of God and as such are all equally loved, valued and cherished in His eyes. But we are also warned here that it is wrong to try to change that status by attempting to elevate our own perceived position and think that we are somehow better or more important than others around us. There is only one true Lord and we must remember that we are not Lord. In fact, whenever we attempt to lord it over someone by viewing them with contempt, criticism and judgment, we are really rejecting God and Christ from being our own Lord in the process.

I see these verses as a clear call to constant attention to realign ourselves to the position in which we are called to serve, as brothers and sisters to all around us with abstinence from trying to play God in their lives. It is a reminder to re-engage in filling our lives and hearts with the love that Jesus taught and to be filled with the servant-spirit that Jesus demonstrated.

When I really begin to be filled with a true spirit of humility as that that filled the heart and mind of Jesus, then I will have the joyful freedom in Christ that will keep me from wanting to judge my brothers and sisters and thus play God with their hearts. I will remember that we all have only one Lord and Judge and that it is never my responsibility to expose or point out the faults of anyone else, whether in an attempt to coerce them to change or to make myself look better by contrast. I am here to encourage, to lift up, to come alongside others who have similar struggles and temptations that I do and treat them as Jesus treated sinners when He was here on earth and still does yet today. I must leave all judgment up to God because God is the only one in the universe capable of exercising the real kind of judgment in a way that is most redemptive.

The problem with humans trying to judge each other is that we cannot be completely free of twisted views and ideas about judgment and so our selfishness and pride always contaminates our attempts in this arena. That is why Paul stated unequivocally in Romans 12:19 that we must leave all revenge in God's hands. God knows all about how to deal with sin and it is radically different than the way we think it should be done. But when it is all said and done every intelligent being throughout the whole universe will be completely satisfied that God did it fairly and in perfect love without any force or coercion of any kind.

And that is precisely what is wrong with our methods of judgment. The way we judge others is a subtle or not so subtle means of trying to coerce them into changing somehow. We use shame or imposed guilt, threats or all sorts of invalid means of trying to force others to change their ways and align themselves to be more like us (which is really the real purpose of judgment). But since we are all sinners and full of faults of our own, to pressure others into becoming more like us is only to try to get them to become more like our style of sinner instead of their style.

Instead, we must come alongside all of our brothers and sisters and together seek God's face and to know much clearer the real truth about God so that in being judged by Him we will be drawn to become more like His perfect character free of all condemnation and fear. When we choose to properly relate to God and to each other, then judgment will begin to lose its grip of fearfulness in our hearts and we will begin to desire to enter into true judgment for ourselves on a regular basis.

The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after. Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed. (1 Timothy 5:24-25)

This is along the line of the true kind of judgment that is God's way. True judgment is simply arranging things in such a way that the true motives and secrets of the heart are revealed for all to see. It does not involve force or arbitrary pronouncements over groveling subjects. It is an inward conviction that can no longer be avoided and an enlightening of the heart and mind that exposes all the dark things of deception behind which we have hidden for all of our lives. Light always brings judgment, not through the means of force but by the principle inherent in light itself.

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. (John 3:19-21)

If we try to act as original light to expose someone around us by judging them or viewing them with contempt, we are trying to act as an Antichrist. Instead, we must focus on aiming our mirrors on Jesus and allowing His perfect light to shine through our lives and hearts and simply allow natural judgment to happen wherever God desires without any pressure from us. As the true Light from Jesus flows through our lives, judgment will begin to happen all around us. But we must always refrain from the temptation of trying to make it happen on our own. Only light from the sacred fire of God can bring about healthy, transformative judgment in the ways that God intends. We must never introduce strange fire into the work of God in our midst.

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