Tolkien on Judging Others

J.R.R. Tolkien reminds us that we must not be hasty in judgment in this line from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is a good reminder to all of us.

 “Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

The Apostle Paul also reminds us not to be hasty in judgement but further reminds us to help each other in the church. In 1 Corinthians he distinguishes between judging those outside of the church and keeping order within the church.

When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. . . . It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

1 Corinthians 5:9, 10, 12, 13

 This is challenging stuff to put into practice. I will seek daily to live by these words, even as I know I will struggle to live them out completely.

Lasting Influence

As I was reading my Bible in the book of Titus, and researching the man Titus, I came upon this short phrase in 2 Timothy 4:10, "Titus has gone to Dalmatia." Titus had been left on the island of Crete to appoint elders in the churches and correct wrong teachings when the Apostle Paul moved on to Nicopolis.1 Eventually, Titus traveled further as well, making more Christian disciples and starting other churches. One of those places to which Titus went was Dalmatia. "Dalmatia is a historical region of Croatia on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea."2 It is thought that Titus established the first church in ancient Salona, which was situated near today's town of Solin.3 Our friends Steve and Amie Gosselin and their two girls recently visited the Dalmatian region. They were impressed by the "mountains, forests, and 1800 km of beautiful coastline with stunning ancient ports and hundreds of Adriatic islands."4 Dalmatia is also a place that has been highly influenced by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Approximately 90% of Croatians identify with the Christian faith in one form or another.5

Dalmatia today remains a testimony to the lasting influence of a single life. We do not know much about humble Titus. It appears that he did not write anything that tells us more about himself. All we have are 16 verses in the New Testament that tell of his work, mostly done alongside Paul.6 Yet, the fruit of his labour can be seen in Dalmatia today. Of course, if Titus had not taken Christian teachings to Dalmatia it is likely that someone else would have; and Titus was not the only evangelist to travel through this region with the Gospel. Others built upon his work to make the region what it is today; but, the point is, Titus did go to Dalmatia. He started something there. It stirs my imagination to think that you and I can have, and may already be having, a significant influence on generations that follow. It is a humbling and sobering thought.


1 Titus 3:12
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalmatia
3 http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=3628
4 http://www.steveamie.com/pages/~longwayhome7_6
5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia
6 "Paul writes of journeying to Jerusalem with Barnabas, accompanied by Titus. He was then dispatched to Corinth, Greece, where he successfully reconciled the Christian community there with Paul, its founder. Titus was later left on the island of Crete to help organize the Church, although he soon went to Dalmatia, Croatia." http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2352