It often feels like the world is just waiting to pass judgment on you. People’s opinions hang in the air, and whether you want to or not, you can’t help but hear them. Sometimes, it’s not just their voices you hear. It’s your own. You can be your own worst critic, dragging up every failure and weakness, rehearsing them like they’re the truest things about you.
Paul understood what that was like. The church in Corinth was full of people judging, comparing, and splitting off into their little camps. It was a mess. Everybody wanted to have an opinion. Some wanted Paul’s approval, some tried to give it, and most just wanted to be seen as right. Paul looked at all that, then quietly said, “To me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court; yea, I judge not mine own self.”
What freedom in those words. Paul didn’t live for the approval of the crowd, and he didn’t try to prop himself up in his mind, either. He put his life in God’s hands, and that was enough. He knew that only God truly sees the heart and that only God’s judgment matters. God knows every hidden thing. He brings the truth into the light. And if you’re in Christ, God has already justified you. He has already settled the question of your worth. You are accepted. You are loved. You are His.
That means you don’t have to keep trying to prove yourself, not to others, not to yourself. You don’t have to keep rehearsing old failures or replaying harsh words. God doesn’t call you to sit in the courtroom, waiting for the jury to come in. You can step out of that seat. Jesus already took your case. He settled it.
This world will always have another opinion. People’s approval is as unreliable as the weather. Today, you’re in their good graces; tomorrow, you’re forgotten. The fear of man brings a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of pleasing everyone. But you won’t ever find rest there. Most of us know what it is to judge ourselves harder than anyone else ever could. We play judge and jury in our minds, and the verdict is always guilty, consistently not enough. That’s not what God asks of you. He already knows everything about you, and still, He welcomes you. He loves you. He calls you His own.
You are not what people say about you. You’re not even what you say about yourself. You are who God says you are, and God says you are loved, forgiven, and accepted because of Jesus. You already have His approval.
You can rest now. You can stop striving to measure up. Let His love settle the question for you. You’re free.
Scriptures:
“To me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self… but he that judgeth me is the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 4:3–4)
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)