Wednesday - Romans 14:13

This verse deals with one of those "hot" issues.  It's one of things that we all hate - it's when somebody "judges" us.  We all hate it.  We don't want people to judge or tell us what is right or wrong.  I think we all deal with this fear or irritation that people are always going to be "in our business".  

"Just let me live my life" is the attitude that most of us have.  

To get into this verse a little deeper and really understand what the Apostle Paul (the guy who wrote this) is trying to say you have to understand a little bit about the current "hot" issue in the church that day.  

People were fighting over what kind of food you should and should not eat.  The Jews, coming from a more traditional background were very strict with their diet because they followed the Old Testament diet rules.  The Greeks or Gentiles who had found Jesus, but weren't raise the same way the Jews were, would eat all kinds of stuff.  The Jews were judging and condemning the Gentiles because of what they ate.  

You have to understand that this kind of judging had to do with someone basically saying two things: 1. What you're doing is wrong and 2. God won't accept you if you keep doing that.  

We only have the right to offer the first of this two ingredients if what they are doing is clearly spelled out in the bible.  Very clearly spelled out.  The second is only ever God's job.  

Paul is telling them in this verse that our focus should not be judging the other person as much as making sure that we ourselves are not doing something that might be an issue for someone else.  It's a maturity issue.  People that like to judge want to draw the attention away from themselves and what they are doing that might be wrong.  

It's kinda like when somebody says, "Mind your own business."  That's kinda biblical.  Look out to make sure that you're living life like it should be and stop focusing so much on what someone else is doing.  

The maturity comes into play when you decide to restrain yourself from doing something that you know in good conscious you can do simply because you don't want it to be an issue for someone else.  Here's the example: you know that can enjoy listening to a variety of music both secular and christian, but one of your friends has really been struggling with this issue.  Your maturity comes into play when you choose to not flaunt your freedom in spite of their struggles.  

Question of the day:  Are you mature enough to deal with your own issues and stop judging others?  Are you mature enough to say no to yourself in order to keep someone else from stumbling?  

Love ya, 

PE