Condemning Fingers

 

“You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse.” (Romans 2:1a NLT)

You raise your hand and, with your second finger, call attention to something or someone. The problem with using your index finger to point out obvious flaws in anything or anyone is that you have three condemning fingers pointing back at you, not just one, but three. Pointing can happen without lifting a finger. Without raising a hand, you can accuse or criticize others with your words or thoughts, but in doing so, condemn yourself.

Who are the “such people” in the passage? In his letter to the Christians in Rome, the apostle Paul warns them about God’s anger concerning humanity's wickedness. There is no excuse for anyone not to know God's truth because it is clear by seeing everything He made (Romans 1:18–20). Paul describes the depravity of those who recognized God but rejected Him by wicked and shameful living noted in Chapter One. Having no desire to change their ways, God turned them over to their vile hearts’ cravings (1:24–32).

According to God’s Word, when we spot and point out flaws and wickedness in others and think they deserve punishment, we recognize the evil because the same faults are in us (2:1). But by the grace of God, we are capable of the same things as those we accuse and deserve the same sentence of God’s disapproval and judgment. Before judging others, including their children, remember: Whoever digs a pit will fall in it, and when you roll a stone, it will roll back over you (Proverbs 26:27).