Time Will Tell

I Corinthians 4:5

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

It can be difficult at times to know who is with you and who is not; who is friend and who is foe. A prophet told me, “Even on their best days some people are still working for the devil.” Even still you have to be careful judging people’s motives too soon. If you keep watching them Time will tell.

My 16-year-old son, Omari went to dinner with me last night. He said, “My friend ‘John’ is a social bug, he never meets a stranger but I sit back to see what people are all about first.” That just hit me this morning. God is telling me that I need to become more like my son the older I get. I have to wait before I rush in or out of a relationship because time will tell.

Paul was trying to help the Christians in Corinth with their interpersonal relationships. He cautioned them on being in a hurry in condemning or celebrating people too soon:

1. Judge nothing before the appointed time. You need time to gather all of the evidence and the facts before judgment. In an earlier verse Paul says, “The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. You can’t navigate relationships well if you don’t have reliable and accurate knowledge of what or whom you are dealing with.

2. Wait 'til the Lord comes. There are some things that flesh and blood can’t reveal. Sometimes you need two or three voices of counsel praying with you. As a matter of fact the Old Testament said that you need at least two witnesses before you condemn somebody. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be in the midst.” You need Jesus present to give insight.

3. God will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. Time will tell what the real motives behind every person that is in your life.

4. At that time each will receive his praise from God. If God is in it, it will be blessed, if not it will die.

Dear God,

Show me who’s who in my life. Surround me with the right people and expose the wrong people. Give me the wisdom to gather all the evidence before I pass judgment give me discernment.

In Jesus Name,
Amen