Romans 14
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Do Not Judge Another
14 As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions.[a] 2 One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand.
5 One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let everyone be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall 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 give praise[b] to God.”
12 So each of us shall give account of himself to God.
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“Where is my right to talk? If you have a right to talk, so have I have a right to talk!” yelled a man who was passing by a peaceful gathering outside a planned parenthood clinic. This is not about pro-life vs pro-choice. It is about needing to judge others, verbally. This man continued, “Shame on you! There are a lot of live children out there that need your help. And, what if a woman was raped! Should she not have the choice to keep the child?”
I was distraught as I heard this man yelling. My priest waved at me and called me to come by his side so that he could encourage me, after being yelled at.
Equally, it could have been a matter of me arguing with my dad, and me saying, “Where is my right to talk? I have a right to talk. This is how I feel.” The right to talk led to my father yelling back, “Get out of my house!”
Equally, it could have been a matter of me arguing with my husband, and me saying, “Where is my right to talk? I have a right to talk. I am the mother of your daughter and your wife!” The right to talk led my husband to point his finger at me and angrily say, “How dare you talk to me like that?”
I reflected on each time I used these words,
Where is my right to talk? I have a right to talk. . .
In Romans 14:1 – 12 (above), it says not to judge one another. (This scripture refers to Paul tolerant of the Jewish Christians’ reluctance to abandon the ritual prescriptions of the law of Moses, while being equally insistent that these shall not be forced on Gentile Christians.)
I plead not to take these words on the receiving end (both ends) as chastisement but something to learn from. Not to belittle my feelings that the words of these angry parties hurt me but what hurt me most at that time was that I did not understand the truth of the subject. Overwhelmed with emotions, in the first example, my priest consoled me. However, there is more to that than said – I had something to learn.
Responding without anger towards the other person, I contemplated holy and silently on the subject of the matter. In the example of the man outside the planned parenthood clinic, I thought about the child that was aborted, my sin of implicitly aiding a friend’s abortion, the needs for children who survived an abortion, and the women who live through experiencing the abortion of their unborn child. Also, I contemplated joyfully of the aborted child now in heaven, the absolution of my sin in implicitly aiding a friend’s abortion, the rise of women having the courage to bear their child to being adopted upon birth, and the courage of the women who were raped and decided not to abort their child. If that man outside the planned parenthood clinic had not yelled the words, Where is my right to talk? I have a right to talk. . ., I would have not been scared effectively enough into contemplating holy on the subject of the matter.
Responding to the same words I said to my father, I was upset about being kicked out of the house of my father but I contemplated holy afterward. I ended up apologizing to my father publicly for causing him so much distress in the argument.
Responding to the same words I said to my husband, I was angry about him pointing and threatening me but I contemplated holy afterward. In this case, I think I prayed to God for divine contemplation. I observed how my husband never raised his finger at me again and a new closeness and new understanding in our relationship.
Romans 14: 10-12
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall 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 give praise[b] to God.”
12 So each of us shall give account of himself to God.
So, after hearing the words, Where is my right to talk? I have a right to talk. . . from either end of an argument, there is a point to be made. No judgment. I suggest after getting over the hurt or angry feelings or, in my case, self-pity , to pray and ask the grace of God for contemplation as He sees the whole situation which happened. So when we are face to face with God, we can tell Him what our account in our lives. For me, it would be that I tried not to judge others but to contemplate holy the subject of the matter. This would bring forth good thoughts and peace. The words ultimately brought peace and not judgement to the initiating and receiving ends of the heated discussion.
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