I don't even judge myself!

 Read 1 Corinthians 4

Paul said that he didn’t even judge himself.  That’s a statement right there!

I don’t even judge myself.

That’s Paul. Surely that’s not for us. Is it?

Realize that Paul explained that people are not qualified to judge others. Our human nature kicks in, and we condemn more than we discern.

You might be thinking, I get judged yearly on my performance evaluation. I hope not. I hope that it measures value. Judgment or discernment is involved in the evaluation process. We judge or assess the amount, number, or value of something.

We are not venturing any further into performance evaluations. Let’s focus on judging, specifically Paul's comment about not judging himself.

Among the tougher jobs that I had as a Marine officer was as a Summary Court. Yes, one individual can be assigned as the whole court.

In the court, I was the prosecutor, defendant’s counsel, clerk, and judge. I did get a Marine to serve as bailiff to get other witnesses, evidence, or coffee. It sounds easy enough—you do the whole thing.

You think it would be easy. You only have to sort things out for yourself. You are missing out if that’s what you believe. You don’t know the joy of objecting to your own questions. It does get you ready for marriage, though. So much for the rabbit trail.

The hardest part was getting the defendants to say something good about themselves. These young Marines knew they screwed up and were ready to pay the price. But as their legal counsel, you wanted to put their best side forward, even if you had to pull it out of them.

I say all of this to make a simple point. We are not prepared to judge another person. Our courts do the best they can, but what about the believer and his or her relationship with God? What about us?

Shouldn’t we judge ourselves? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a practice test? Don’t you want to know where you stand with the Lord?

Yes, you are forgiven, but what have you done with your life since you were forgiven and saved?  Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. I get that. It’s all him.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see where we stand before we stand before the Lord?

We can. We have a judge available to us all the time. It’s like an app. The word of God judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Paul didn’t need the approval of the Corinthians or Ephesians or even the Hebrew people.  God alone would judge him and if he wanted to know where he stood, he could consult God’s word, which Paul knew so well.

So today, I say:

·       Don’t be subject to what others think of you. That’s outside of your purview.

·       Don’t decide based on how others might react. Just do the right thing.

·       Do what your Master tells you to do. Its right there in black and white. Some of it might be in red.

·       Don’t judge yourself. Be receptive to what God’s word says about you, but don’t get wrapped up in others' judgment of you.

·       Don’t beat yourself up. None of you surprised God when you fell short. I might be the only one who surprised him with how far outside the lines I was coloring.

Do those and you will have a humble confidence. You will also have someone who is always upset with you.

Elsewhere, Paul noted that one should get along with everyone as much as possible. If one does not get along with someone, one should make sure it is not the Lord that one offends.

Let the word of God be your judge. Focus on practicing the Lord’s words, learning from him, and pouring yourself into your discipleship.

Amen.