Don't Jump to Judge Other Christians

This is God's message for us in Romans 14:3-4, where Paul said:

3. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4. Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

*In effect, Paul was saying: "Christians: Who do you think you are judging other believers?" But sometimes we do, don't we? It's one of the easiest traps to fall into.

*PART OF IT IS A SIGHT PROBLEM. WE CAN'T SEE THINGS AS THEY REALLY ARE.

*In 2002, Donald Rumsfeld explained that we have known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. Known knowns are the things we know we know. Known unknowns are the things we know we don't know. But unknown unknowns are those things that we don't know, but we don't know that we don't know them. (1)

*Well, when it comes to judging other people, I guarantee you there are some things we don't know So, God tells us not to be so quick to judge other people or think we're better than them.

*Back in the summer of 1999, I got to take part in a "Day of Champions" in Tallulah. Bill Glass Ministries sponsored that soul-winning event at the Tallulah Correctional Center for Youth, and dozens of the inmates were saved. That day, we saw some awesome feats of strength performed by Keith Davis from the Power Team. We also heard some wonderful testimonies from those Christian athletes.

*After it was over, there was a big, African-American guy who needed a ride, maybe back to Delhi or Rayville. His name was Ernie, and I volunteered to take him. Other than his big size, he looked nothing but ordinary, and I kind of felt sorry for him, because he didn't even have a car to take him home. At the time, I was driving a Chevy Corsica, and it was about as basic a little car as you could have. If you compared that car to food, it would be a saltine cracker, a stale saltine cracker, without the salt. And I felt sorry for that guy. Not only did he not have a ride home, He also had to fold up into a ball to get in my car. He was in that perfect cannonball position.

*I found out later that he was 6 feet 9 inches tall, and weighed over 300 pounds. I also found out that the man I assumed to be so poor was Ernie Ladd. You may have heard of Ernie Ladd. He was an All-AFL defensive tackle with an eight-year pro football career. He appeared in four straight AFL All-Star games from 1962-1965. Ernie joined the San Diego Chargers in 1961, and played on their AFL championship team in 1963. He also played with the Kansas City Chiefs. After football, Ernie became a professional wrestler, and he's in the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. The guy I thought was too poor to have a car, owned a restaurant in New Orleans, and was a longtime friend of the Bush family. (2)

*Why did it happen that way? Ernie was humble, I was ignorant, and that day wasn't about us, it was about Jesus and what He did at that correctional center. But when it comes to judging other people, I guarantee you there are some things we don't know!

(1) Sources:

-www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/donaldrums148142.html

-United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unknown_unknown

(2) Sources:

-https://lasportshall.com/?inductees=ernie-ladd

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Ladd