Daily Bible Reading – 10.13.2021
James 4:11-12, 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. 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?
Slander is such an evil use of the tongue. The dictionary’s definition of slander is “the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation.” Slander is not only a sin but is such a detriment to society, it can, also, be a crime.
Like James’ argument yesterday, how can we praise God and destroy one another with our mouths? Again, James is speaking to Christians who slander Christians. This is beyond imagination that within the Body of Christ we would treat each other in such a vicious, mean-spirited way.
When we do this, we are not just speaking against each other, we are speaking against God’s Word. When we judge one another in inappropriate ways, we judge and demean God’s Word in the same way.
Whenever we do this, we are saying we know better. We are not being obedient to God’s Word but saying our judgment is greater. What we believe and say is more important than what God has to say. When we do this, we bring judgment on God Himself.
But God is both the source of the Word and Judge of how it is lived out. He alone has the ability to save us and condemn us. We have not been given such authority or responsibility for each other.
Jesus said it this way,
Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Questions to Consider:
Why do we feel a need to harshly judge one another? What can we glean from this passage that will help motivate us from judging one another in inappropriate ways?
Weekly Memory Verse:
James 4:15, Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”