ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE YOU? OK.

Familyyyy,

We are back.

(This is awkward if you've never been here). (Anyway).

Today, we are discussing the cute phrase us Christians love to throw around.

You know, the one we say before or after we do something strongly questionable in the eyes of the good Lord.

So, let's get it out of the way, shall we? It's true that the only being that can judge you by way of determining your eternal fate post-death is God. Sure.

But let's read into other definitions of the word 'judge'.

Judge /dʒʌdʒ/- to form an opinion or conclusion (Google).

And let's be very real here-it's almost a given that most people form opinions about others.

-This brings us to problem number 1- People judge. As in, you can scream "OnLy GoD cAn JuDgE Me" alll you want, but lo and behold pal, people are still judging you.

In fact, Jesus in John 7 implied that we would judge, saying "don't judge by appearances, judge correctly".

(Here, I'd like to strongly highlight my interpretation that the judging referred to in this verse is situational, not dispositional i.e- we may judge situations but not people's character, you feel me?).

Leading on from this, one might come with the "I don't care what ppl think about me". Ok. But, I'm going to hit you with reality again and remind you that people's perceptions of you will affect the way they respond to you. In turn this affects your social experience in different spaces.

Secondly, we have to think about intention. Majority of the time when we use this phrase, we use it in a defensive manner, either before or after doing something questionable. I barely hear anyone say it to comfort someone or uplift their peer- and that's because it just would not make much sense.

Essentially, use of this phrase is frequently indicative of ignorance, lukewarmness, unrighteousness and uncertainty.

This brings me to the third point. Instead of defensively stating "Only God can judge" as a disclaimer to man, we should be remembering one thing: one day, He will.

As I've said, this line normally doesn't come from a fully righteous, conscious place, and may follow with sinful or those almost-but-not-realllly-sin actions. We are screaming Only God can judge to avoid questions and looks from friends but forgetting that God sees everything and the day of judgement is COMING.

(Sorry pls I'm not trying to be scary, but the truth is the truth).

We have to stop using this as an excuse to tip toe around sin.

As Paul said to Corinth- You have the right to do anything, but not everything is beneficial and constructive.

(1 Corinthians 10:23)

Another reason we are rejecting this statement this year and beyond is based (again) on Paul.

In 1 Cor 11, Paul told the Corinthians to follow His example, and he follows the example of Christ. This, to me, is a reflections of how all Christians should aspire to be. We should live in a way where our actions-not just our words- are an example.

One of our goals as Christians is to embody Christ, and if we are striving to do that, people should be able to see us (to some extent) as examples. Another goal of ours as followers of Christ is to win souls for the kingdom (ok, let me call it evangelism before somebody says we're a cult). While some of us are like Nia Cerise called to approach strangers and talk about the gospel, others might not feel like this is the way they are to evangelise. I've realised that we can spread the gospel by embodying Christ, monitoring the way we approach situations etc.

Now of course, we all have areas in which we might struggle, and of course people seeking to know Christ should seek Him as the ultimate example, but you hear what I'm saying.

In conclusion, whenever you are in an Only God Can Judge me situation, ask yourself if what you are doing is what Christ would do. Remember that as Christians, we are ambassadors of Christ.

Ok, hope this has helped, lots of love

Bolu Noelle

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#religion #faith #christianity