Scripture

1 Corinthians 4 NIV

3I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4My
conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5Therefore judge
nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness
and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

Devotional:

Whose judgment are you most concerned with in your life? As we read this passage we see that Paul is not
concerned with anyone of this world in regards to judgment, not even his own. Does that mean we can go
around doing whatever we choose with no consequences, of course not. Paul admits that even he is not
innocent, and with that being said, neither are any of us. Our actions will indeed bring judgment and
consequences by others of this world and by God. The difference is one judgment is premature while the other
is proper and just. We are told not to judge anything before the appointed time, and the time he is referring to
is when our Christ comes again to separate the harvest from the weeds. You see we all grow together and we
do not have the ability nor right to separate what God has sown. What we may consider worthless God may
choose for the harvest, as Paul states He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness. It is only He that knows
the true motives of our hearts. I am going to share a fact with all of you: We as human beings do not deserve
anything but prostitute, clergymen, or murderer. We all deserve the same punishment, but God so loved this
world (meaning us, His creations) that he gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believed/received Him
would have eternal life. There it is people the revelation…..I don't care how good of a person you are or you
think you are, without the blood atonement that took place on that cross our physical death would be final. It is
through Jesus Christ that we conquer our physical death. Someday your heart will seize to beat, and your body
will lie cold in the ground, you will be physically dead, but I tell you rejoice. With the acceptance of Jesus
Christ comes the promise of everlasting life, a life with no pain, sorrow, no earthquake to claim so many lives,
and no suffering. How does all of this relate back to what Paul is telling us, simplified, we are to love others as
Jesus loves us, we are to be slow to judge, and quick to encourage, for our judgments have no merit and only
hurt others and fill us with a selfish pride. As we pass judgment, let us remember that we to will be judged, but
our judgment will come from a higher court…and that verdict is final, there will be no plea bargains and no
sentence reduction for good behavior…...it will be an eternal ruling.