Observation: Paul is preparing to make the case that we are made right in our relationship with God only through grace, as a gift. But to get there, he has to prove that no one deserves it or has earned it. He uses an old standby, perhaps the oldest complaint about religious folks: they are hypocrites. They do the same things they condemn in others, and therefore are deserving of the same judgment. So when is it okay to judge someone?
Application: Never. It's never okay. It's never our job to judge another person. We can't evaluate another person's righteous behavior, relative to our own or anyone else's. Our own minds and hearts are too clouded by our own dysfunction and sin. Jesus said it best: don't worry about the splinter in your neighbor's eye until you've taken care of the log in your own.
I am not great at remembering this. It's hard not to notice when others behave in a cruel or selfish way, and even harder to see the many ways I do the same thing. I need to be spending time in God's Word as a reality check, to put the brakes on my hypocrisy.
Prayer: God, help me look at my own sin first...and second...and as many times as needed to truly understand your grace for me, so I no longer feel like judging anyone else. Amen.
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