p. 10 | Let God Be Judge by F. M. W.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 6, 1911

Let God Be Judge

By F. M. W.

How fortunate it is that God has not committed the destiny of mankind to the decision of their fellows! How partial would be our judgment, how superficial our reasoning, how personal our standard! We would judge our fellows by our own course of conduct. We could not consistently do otherwise. We would save our friends, and destroy our enemies. Personal prejudice and sentiment would largely bear sway.

True, there will come a time when the saints will have a part in the work of judgment, but that will be after their vision has been clarified from sin, their characters purified by God's grace, and their judgment quickened and enlightened by his Holy Spirit. Then they will be able to sit down, with the Lord Jesus Christ and the holy angels as guides, to take part in this solemn work. Until that hour, judgment on our part should be reserved. There, we may see things clearly; here, we view things dimly as through a veil. There, we shall be able to discern the motives and purposes which have possessed men's lives. We shall be able to look beneath the surface, and estimate matters at their intrinsic value; here, we must judge from the superficial, and take into account the outward acts as they appear to our clouded vision.

It behooves us now, therefore, to be generous in the estimate of our fellows. Christianity itself is broad, liberal, and generous. It does not condone sin, but it exercises great love for, and long patience with, the sinful. We are inclined sometimes in our narrow conceptions to pass judgment upon our fellows over the smallest details in their experience. Polite society may judge of a man's social standing by the cut of his coat or the style of his hat, and there is danger that we may even bring such minor matters as this into our estimate of Christianity.

God has called this people to a high standard of Christian living. He has called us also to peace; and peace in our homes and in the church of God is a thousand times more desirable than a spirit of contention and irritation caused by our continually harping over little details whose importance we think we see, but which our brethren do not appreciate. Let us not feel that God has laid upon us the burden of converting our fellows, or even our own families, to our conception of all the details of Christian living.

Let us teach principles. Let us exemplify those principles in our own lives, applying them just as closely to the details of our own experience as possible. Then let us live sweetly with those around us; let us think charitably; let us be kind and loving and generous. This course will make more for God and for truth and for righteousness than any spirit which unduly exalts our own conception of duty, and discounts the motives and purposes of our fellow men. We have quite enough to do if we can correctly determine our duty before God in all the details of life, leaving our brethren and sisters, by the aid of the Spirit of God, to determine their duty for themselves. Let God be judge.

F. M. W.