I have been reading 1 Corinthians the past few days and came across these amazing few sentences in Chapter 4.
It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes that judgment.
So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the "Well done!" of God. 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (The Message)
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (NIV)
I love how Paul says that he does not even judge or rank himself. He literally leaves all judgement to God. I think that so many times we as believers find ourselves fighting for a higher ranking in the church world, or to become the best at what we do. In our stride to become top notch we tend to look at those around us and begin to compare ourselves. Then one of two things occur...we either judge them by there shortcomings, or we judge ourselves because of our lack.
It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes that judgment.
So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the "Well done!" of God. 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (The Message)
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (NIV)
I love how Paul says that he does not even judge or rank himself. He literally leaves all judgement to God. I think that so many times we as believers find ourselves fighting for a higher ranking in the church world, or to become the best at what we do. In our stride to become top notch we tend to look at those around us and begin to compare ourselves. Then one of two things occur...we either judge them by there shortcomings, or we judge ourselves because of our lack.
What Paul is stressing here is that we are not to rank ourselves or others at all. We are to leave all the ranking to God. Our job is to love God and to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. Only God knows the hearts and motives of people. We are not to assume that someone deserves punishment because there is sin in thier life...they might be on their face daily praying to overcome...likewise we cannot rank others as "good" because thier life looks all clean and tidy...they may have not relied on God for anyhting. The point I want to encourage you with today is...Don't be too hard on yourself or others. Live in peace with all, and extend Grace and Love to those around you. If a friend is struggling...reach out a helping hand, don't pass judgment because "you would never do that". WALK IN LOVE AND LET DADDY GOD HANDLE REVEALING OUR HEARTS.
GRACE AND LOVE!!
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