Don't let yourself be judged

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.  – Colossians 2.16-19

If there is one thing the church is good at it is judging each other when we don’t totally agree on things. We all seem to think that if anyone doesn’t do things are way they must be wrong. Judging seems to be what we do best sometimes.

Here the church was still young. They were trying to define themselves as the body of Christ. Many were saved Jews who couldn’t figure out their new faith was going to fit in with their old lives. Some teachers were trying to say that even if you are saved there are still some things you need to do the way we tell you.

You need to eat and drink the things we tell you are okay

You need to observe the feasts and festivals and such that we tell you to do

(there are a few more to come later)

But Paul says ‘don’t let people judge you in these matters.’ These things are just a dim, vague outline of the future – they don’t really matter. There is no substance – don’t be judged by them. Keeping this kind of regulations is only going to puff us up in our flesh.

‘I do do this and I don’t do that so I am spiritual!’

But this thinking is NOT holding fast to Christ –the Head. It misses the mark. It is like playing shadow tag with the kids. It doesn’t do anything of substance.

Instead we are to be nourished and knit together by the Head who supplies all we need.

Don’t let yourself be judged – unless it is in line with ‘this saith the Lord.’