“But with 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. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 4:3-4)
It is a tough thing to be slandered, judged, misunderstood, or condemned by others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul was writing to a church that was divided. Some said they were of Paul, others Cephas, some Apollos, some Christ. Think about it, not everyone was real happy to get his epistle even before they started reading it!
When human judgment comes down on us it is easy to get consumed by it. It is easy to get caught up in the court of “human opinion.” Those things can keep us up at night, distract us, or even keep us from doing what is right. But not Paul. He called it a very small thing. Underline or highlight that in your Bibles! I did, and I wrote in the margin these words: “Accusations of a human court are a very small thing!”
Don’t misunderstand what I’m writing, he didn’t say he ignored it completely. He simply put it in perspective. It was a very small thing. It didn’t keep him up at night because somebody disagreed with him, or didn’t like what he did or was doing. He didn’t obsess over what people thought of him.
The ground of Paul’s confidence was God. Look there at the latter part of verse 4. “….he that judgeth me is the Lord.”
We should have no fear as long as we are standing on the Bible, God’s inspired infallible Holy Word. Ultimately it is God’s judgment alone that matters. Such perspective will free us from being consumed with the human courtroom we often find ourselves in.
What is the judgment of man in light of the judgment of God? The human courtroom of man’s opinion is temporary. But someday all God’s people will be judged by the Lord. That’s the judgment that matters most.