Higher Calling

Romans 14:13-18


13Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
14I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
15For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
16So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.


 I'm not sure how these words ring in your ears today. We are not these people. The world is completely sold on the concept of not judging one another, right? At least that is the ethos of the day. Not judging one another is thrust into our faces at every turn.

 Then the truth slaps us - hard. Paul gives instruction as to how live that idea out in everyday life. We think of the other person's needs and sensibilities before we consider our own. Wait. That's not what I meant when I said "don't judge." I meant that I want total freedom apart from your opinions. I don't want to hear what you have to say about me unless you agree with me. Now Paul comes along and tells me that living a life that is free of judgment means that I pay more attention to someone else than I do to myself. I'm supposed to live in such a way as to watch out for my neighbor rather than demanding my own way all the time. This is not what "don't judge" was suppose to mean.

 There's no way to put it in soft terms. If I am a member of God's Kingdom I am called to a higher standard of living when it comes to how I treat my brothers and sisters in Christ. Their needs and sensibilities always come ahead of mine. Jesus put my need for a Savior at the very top of His list and surrendered His live so that I could live. His example is pure. 

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