1 Corinthians 4:3,5 (NRSV) It Is Not For Us To Judge
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself.
…Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.
Devotion
First, let us clarify exactly what we mean by the word ‘judge.’
If I’m a teacher, there’s nothing wrong with telling a student he failed his exam. If I’m a judge or jury, there’s nothing wrong with saying the defendant broke the law. If I’m a parent, there’s nothing wrong with saying my child misbehaved.
Paul is talking about morally judging someone – asserting that someone is morally inferior.
This problem is as old as mankind, and we see it in our everyday lives, all the way from trash-talking between NFL players to fuming at the waiter who botched your order. The problem has become acute in our polarized politics of today, where in political arguments rather than simply saying “I see things differently” we are inclined to say “You are wrong.” In fact we often say “You are a bad person.” This is exactly what Paul is saying we should not do.
Another way of understanding such judging is seen in Genesis 2:17, where the Lord commands Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Lord is telling us not to think that we can know the difference between good and evil. That judgement is reserved to the Lord.
There are two additional lessons to be learned from these passages.
First, we must be careful not to judge ourselves harshly. Paul addresses this in verse 3, “I do not judge myself.” This is a most personal matter with me, since I grew up with hyper-critical parents, and to this day I have a tendency to diminish myself unfairly. This is not true humility; this is beating up on oneself.
Another powerful lesson from this reading is found at the end of verse 5, where Paul writes, When “the Lord comes … each will receive commendation from God.” Just as it is the Lord who tells us when we are evil, so it is the Lord who determines appropriate praise. This is not to say we should not thank those who have been helpful and useful in our everyday lives. Instead, Paul is saying that only the Lord himself determines when and where and how each of us has best fulfilled his or her divine mission.
Prayer
Father in heaven,
All too often we respond to the challenges of everyday life by blaming and castigating someone other than ourselves, particularly in today’s badly polarized society. Let your Holy Spirit flow through us and sweep away this temptation to judge, inclining us instead to listen and understand the perspectives of others.
Brien Benson