Reason #725
Worry about yourself. It doesn't matter what everyone else is doing. Just do what you're supposed to do, and you'll be fine. Maybe your parents told you that. Maybe your teachers did. It's kind of like that whole, "If all of your friends jumped of a cliff, would you?" type of line.
Today we studied Romans 14, and we talked about judgment. I could probably talk for a few hours about the topic of judgment because there is a lot to be said for it. But we made it half way through the passage, and I realized that Paul is basically telling them that they need to be concerned with themselves. Because the truth is, the only heart we really know, the only mind we really understand, and the only actions we are going to be held accountable for in the end are our own. And as I thought about this, I thought about how much time and effort we waste judging others. We spend too much time looking for specs of dust when we need to be more concerned about dusting our own lives.
This occurred to me earlier in the week when I received an informative text message. It always amazes me how God will either present me with a certain situation or point me to a certain passage of scripture that prepares my heart for Sundays. Anyway, earlier this week, I received a text message concerning the relationship status of a girl I knew in college. This was a pretty "juicy" message and so I quickly replied with a judgmental comment, not really feeling all that bad about it due to the nature of the story. Of course, thanks to technology and social media, I know a lot people probably received this same piece of information this week. And, if I was betting, probably all reactions were pretty similar to mine. Yet, as I considered this, I realized that this was me a few years ago. I realized that I was the one people were sending "informative" texts about full of juicy information. And I wondered what the reactions were in my situation. I wondered what people thought. And, today, I realized that in the end, we all just need to worry about ourselves.
Here's the thing. One day, I am going to stand before the Lord and give an account for my life. I am not going to get credit or points based on my life compared to someone else's. God is not going to say, "Brittnye, why don't you tell me about your friends and why you think you deserve better/worse than them." And even if I happen to bring other people up, I can imagine God is going to say, "That's between me and them. Let's talk about you and me." Because my actions are not justified by what other people are or are not doing. My action are not justified by how other people have made me feel. God is going to look at my life in relation to His word and whether or not I've been obedient to Him and what He has asked me to do. He isn't going to think better of me because other people have stumbled in certain areas that I haven't. Because, honestly, I've stumbled in areas they haven't so that pretty much negates that argument. In the end, it really will be about me, and I realize that maybe I need to spend more time concerned with how I live my life according to God's word than with how others are living theirs.
And so as I thought about that text message, and as I thought about how much I wanted to say negative things or pass along the information, I thought about myself. I thought about how I would have felt, how I felt, and I realized I didn't need to worry about that. What good was it to spread the word? Was I just doing it to make myself feel better and appear better? Was it really beneficial for me to say anything at all? And, am I really all that much "better" anyway?
Worry about yourself. You'll stand before the Lord, too. You'll also give an account for your own life. It's really between you and Him, even if everyone else finds out about it. And, when we spend our time concerned about living our lives for the Lord, we realize that that should keep us busy enough that we don't have to worry about what everyone else is or isn't doing.
#725 - Because we really just have to worry about ourselves.
"So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. or the Scriptures say, ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.' Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall." - Romans 14:10 -13
Today we studied Romans 14, and we talked about judgment. I could probably talk for a few hours about the topic of judgment because there is a lot to be said for it. But we made it half way through the passage, and I realized that Paul is basically telling them that they need to be concerned with themselves. Because the truth is, the only heart we really know, the only mind we really understand, and the only actions we are going to be held accountable for in the end are our own. And as I thought about this, I thought about how much time and effort we waste judging others. We spend too much time looking for specs of dust when we need to be more concerned about dusting our own lives.
This occurred to me earlier in the week when I received an informative text message. It always amazes me how God will either present me with a certain situation or point me to a certain passage of scripture that prepares my heart for Sundays. Anyway, earlier this week, I received a text message concerning the relationship status of a girl I knew in college. This was a pretty "juicy" message and so I quickly replied with a judgmental comment, not really feeling all that bad about it due to the nature of the story. Of course, thanks to technology and social media, I know a lot people probably received this same piece of information this week. And, if I was betting, probably all reactions were pretty similar to mine. Yet, as I considered this, I realized that this was me a few years ago. I realized that I was the one people were sending "informative" texts about full of juicy information. And I wondered what the reactions were in my situation. I wondered what people thought. And, today, I realized that in the end, we all just need to worry about ourselves.
Here's the thing. One day, I am going to stand before the Lord and give an account for my life. I am not going to get credit or points based on my life compared to someone else's. God is not going to say, "Brittnye, why don't you tell me about your friends and why you think you deserve better/worse than them." And even if I happen to bring other people up, I can imagine God is going to say, "That's between me and them. Let's talk about you and me." Because my actions are not justified by what other people are or are not doing. My action are not justified by how other people have made me feel. God is going to look at my life in relation to His word and whether or not I've been obedient to Him and what He has asked me to do. He isn't going to think better of me because other people have stumbled in certain areas that I haven't. Because, honestly, I've stumbled in areas they haven't so that pretty much negates that argument. In the end, it really will be about me, and I realize that maybe I need to spend more time concerned with how I live my life according to God's word than with how others are living theirs.
And so as I thought about that text message, and as I thought about how much I wanted to say negative things or pass along the information, I thought about myself. I thought about how I would have felt, how I felt, and I realized I didn't need to worry about that. What good was it to spread the word? Was I just doing it to make myself feel better and appear better? Was it really beneficial for me to say anything at all? And, am I really all that much "better" anyway?
Worry about yourself. You'll stand before the Lord, too. You'll also give an account for your own life. It's really between you and Him, even if everyone else finds out about it. And, when we spend our time concerned about living our lives for the Lord, we realize that that should keep us busy enough that we don't have to worry about what everyone else is or isn't doing.
#725 - Because we really just have to worry about ourselves.
"So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. or the Scriptures say, ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.' Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall." - Romans 14:10 -13