Each of us will be accountable to God. Let us therefore no longer pass judgement on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling-block or hindrance in the way of another.
This passage speaks to me because I think judgment is one of the biggest problems we have in our society. Everyone thinks that their way is right, their political views, their religious views, even their particular practices within commonly held beliefs – Episcopalian compared to Free Methodists compared to Presbyterians compared to Pentecostals. That sense of judgement seems to come from a sense of empirical superiority. I can judge you and your beliefs or actions because mine are clearly more right, empirically true.
That has never made sense to me, because loving, smart people disagree on things I feel they’re wrong about. But, as it turns out, they feel the same. They feel I’m wrong. This was so apparent working in local government, where for every requested speed bump, there was someone requesting it be not installed. For every lakefront someone wanted to clear for views or recreation, there was someone advocating for the habitat living in the overgrown but protective banks. It became very clear that there was no single right answer. The perception of right had nothing to do with empirical truths, but rather from the values of the judge. And there’s nothing wrong with people having values, and holding opinions about what’s right based on their values. It just does not make the opinion empirically true.
So if opinions about right and true are so influenced by the values of the person holding the opinions, how can we accurately determine what’s empirically true? From a position of deep faith, I can look at someone else’s political position and feel they’re wrong, while at the same time, another person from a position of deep faith can look at my political positions and feel they’re wrong. Me and my sister in faith cannot resolve what’s true, since we both think we’re right, from a position of deep faith. At some point it’s dumb to keep arguing about it, since there is no human arbiter who can help resolve our conflicted sense of righteousness.
Paul realized this, and encouraged people to not judge each other. What I really appreciate about this passage is that he resolves the issue about there not being someone who can adjudicate my argument about my rightness. God, it turns out, is the ultimate arbitrator. God ultimately decides about right and wrong. I will stand before God, so will my loving sister.
And if I believe in a loving God, which I do, God is not a harsh judge. I will stand before God, and all of my strengths and weaknesses will clear. And at the end of the day, I will be loved by God, regardless of that accounting. So will my sister. She will stand before God, and all of their strengths and weaknesses will be clear. But at the end of the day, they will be loved by God, regardless of that accounting. If that is the case, why would I put a stumbling block in her way now?
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