ROMANS 14
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.– Romans 14:10-12
ROMANS 14 ON BEING ACCOUNTABLE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Do not give your own verdict on others
When you pass judgment, you despise your brother
You will be judged by God himself if you do
He is the only One who is the righteous judge.
In our world today, very few people are accountable to someone. We live in a society that doesn’t generate “accountability.” “To each his own” is an idiom which means that everyone has their own preferences and opinions. No one is right or wrong. Each person is free to believe what they want regardless of their conscience. They do not hold another person responsible for anything. They have taken “mind your own business” to a dangerous level where there is almost apathy towards another human. They are free to do what they prefer even if it is harming them or someone else.
There are privacy laws that have been implemented so each citizen can continue to be irresponsible and not care about consequences of their actions. Each person thinks that no one can stop them from doing what pleases them. Even when it comes to health concerns, sometimes someone can take the “privacy act” to its extreme. A person can keep secrets about their diagnosis even from their own family like their children or spouse so they can continue to do as they please without any accountability. They pretend they are okay and continue to keep it secret for fear of not being perfect. They do not care to prepare their loved ones for the detrimental outcome of their diagnosis. They think only of their own life and don’t care how they impact the surviving family. This clearly manifests a life of no accountability but a self-focused life, isolated from everyone.
REFLECTION
- What was Paul’s warning in verses 11-12 regarding judgment and accountability?
