“So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” (Romans 2:3-4)

During the winter months, I looked down at my keychain and realized that I had lost the key to my Harley. I had it on a quick release loop so I could remove it from the rest of my keys for ease when riding. I looked everywhere for it—in all of my jackets, purses, and pockets—but because I couldn’t pinpoint the time-frame in which I lost it, I had no hope of finding it.

After I had given up the search, I dreaded telling my husband that the key was gone, as I expected him to be angry, even though it was an accident. When I finally worked up the courage to tell him, he dismissed it with a shrug, commenting, “These things happen.” I was so relieved. Not only was he not angry, he was sympathetic knowing this could have happened to anyone.

Do you know why I was nervous he’d be angry? Because I would have been angry. I might have even accused him of being careless, or questioned how he didn’t notice it falling off the keyring. Many times, we do not like to extend grace to others. We like it for ourselves, but when others are concerned, we want them to get what we believe they deserve.

“Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth” (Romans 2:2)

In the court system, to be a judge, several requirements must be met. First, judges must be experts in our laws, they must be citizens, and they must meet certain residency requirements to serve. Then, when performing their duty, judges must be impartial and fair. Their decisions are rendered based on facts alone, and there is no room for opinion, favoritism, or ignorance of the law. A lot of requirements must be met before a person is qualified to be a judge in our court system.

The same is true in the heavenly realm. There are many requirements for being qualified to render judgment. In the previous verse, Paul has just disqualified mankind from this role. “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things” (Rom. 2:1). Our participation in sin excludes us from being qualified to judge anyone fairly.