Don't Rely On Other's Evaluation of You!

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Paul’s Relationship with the Corinthians

Romans 4:1-5  So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. 2 Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. 3 As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. 5 So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

Most of us are interested in what other people think of us. It is quite natural and in and of itself there is nothing wrong with it, if done in a healthy way. But often when we interpret other's evaluation of us it puts us in one of two positions. One, if someone thinks highly of us, it can lead to pride or overly high sense of self. Two, if we feel like someone judges us negatively, it can lead to shame and wondering what we have to do to get this person's approval. This was no different in Paul's day. 1 Corinthians was written only about 20-25 years after Jesus' death and resurrection. 

If you read through this whole chapter, Paul is very sarcastic with the Corinthian Christians. They had one main problem ... pride. They thought they were superior to other Christians because they had experienced some of God's supernatural gifts like speaking in tongues and prophesy.  They also compared and contrasted leaders like Paul, Peter, and Apollos according to their own wishes. One person said they followed Paul and another Peter. So Paul needs to correct how they evaluate their leaders or anybody else for that matter. 

Paul says something very bold here. He says, "It matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or any human authority, I don't even trust my own judgment." 

What is he saying here? Paul is saying that the only real judge is God. For him to be concerned about other people's judgment was a waste of time. As he thinks about his own evaluation of himself, he comments that he might even be wrong about his own self evaluation. Meaning he could either be thinking too highly or too lowly of himself. But again his only judge was the Lord. 

Paul also uses two words to describe what both he and Apollos strive to attain to. They strive to be both SERVANTS and STEWARDS. The word for "servant" is like what an "under rower" is. It was the person at the bottom of a ship who rowed with others under the direction of the captain. In a similar way the primary call of a believer is to be a servant wherever God calls us.  

He also uses the term "steward" which means someone who has been put in charge of something and will be held accountable to the person who gave him this responsibility. Sometimes the steward of a household made sure everyone was fed, the food and supplies were bought, and the other affairs having to do with running the household were done in good and decent order. Paul said in a similar way he was a "steward of the mysteries of God".  Paul's job as a steward of God's truth was to share it with others honestly, humbly, and sincerely. His job was not to try and convince or manipulate anyone to believe in Jesus, but be an ambassador for him. 

What about you? How do you judge yourself? Are you more concerned about what others think of you or what God thinks of you? Do you judge others? What standard do you use? How does judging others in essence make you think you are God? 

As you go about your day today think about being God's servant wherever he calls you, just keep on rowing!  Be an ambassdor for God by sharing the truth of what he has done for the world by sending His Son to die for it! Be an ambassador for Christ by loving others he puts in your path today. As you focus on these two things you don't really have to worry about anything or anyone else.