Judgment of the Law

James 4:11-12 ⁽¹¹⁾Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ⁽¹²⁾There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? (NIV)

            The day had finally had come for Sam to be sentenced for a crime that he was found guilty of. He had been convicted of drug possession with the intent to sell. The judge on the bench made his ruling and sentenced Sam to eight years in a maximum security prison with hard labor. Sam was led away by the prison guards where he was soon to have a new address for the next few years.

            After the judge made his ruling, he retired to his chambers because he was finished for the day. He sat in his seat and opened his desk drawer. Inside of the drawer was a piece of paper that read, “Today, you made a ruling for which the defendant was truly guilt, but you purchased drugs the other day from the same person who gave it to him. Who is the hypocrite?” The judge being in shock that anyone knew his dark secret, turned in his resignation the following day for fear that his name and reputation would be disgraced.

            The Apostle James lets us know that we are never to slander each other. Most important, we are not to lie in judgment of our neighbors. To judge would mean that you are not guilty of doing the exact thing that you accuse someone else of. Romans 2:3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? (NIV) As in the above story, the judge was passing judgment on someone, while he was guilty of a similar crime. It would have been best for him to excuse himself from the bench than to render judgment, while he was obvious breaking the laws that he was to enforce. Let’s use the following example. If you pass judgment on people who are involved in homosexuality and yet, you are a fornicator, then you do not have room to judge. That would then be considered as hypocrisy and therefore, it would lack righteous judgment in God’s eyes. 

            We are called to be a light unto the world. In doing so, we much ensure that we follow God with all our hearts, souls and mind. The witness that we show to others will either bring a person to Christ or make him run to the nearest exit. What type of witness are you? Let’s make sure that we are trend setters and not trend followers when it comes to obeying the laws of God.

The Book of James: 30 Days of Devotion for Men by K L Rich is available on Amazon.com.