Who Will Sit on The White Throne of Judgment?

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As human beings, we have a tendency to want to be liked by other people and have them think well of us. We want them to admire us, say nice things about us and hold us in high regard. This is despite the fact that we may be doing some not-so-nice things behind their back that they know nothing about. I have often seen people looking very embarrassed and ashamed when some hideous thing that they were doing in secret is exposed on national TV. They do not want to be seen and known as not-so-good people. They would rather have people continue to think of them as the most wonderful people in the world. It does not matter that God knows all of their dark and sinister secrets. What matters is how other people see them.

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This tendency to want to look admirable to others has a way of making us less concerned about pleasing God and more concerned about how to please and be accepted by other people. For example, if those whom we associate with think that it is foolish to still be a virgin, we go ahead and sleep around. If they think that drugs are cool, we go ahead and become addicts. If they think lowly of certain people, we go ahead and develop a hatred for those people and start discriminating against them. Whatever they are doing, even if it is something bad that is obviously contrary to God's will, we join them lest they reject us.

This brings us to the question that has been asked at the beginning of this post: Who will sit on the throne of judgment on judgment day? Will it be our friends whom we work so hard to please and be accepted by? Will it be our neighbors who speak well of us? Will it be those whom we are really nice to while at the same time being not-so-nice to others? Will it be those whose demands we make sure that we meet even if it means pushing God aside?

Obviously, the answer is no. God is the one who will sit on that judgment throne. His judgment will not be based on what people know. His judgment will not be based on what people think. His judgment will not be based on what people feel about us. Rather, His judgment will be based on His Word and on His flawless knowledge about each one of us.

We may seem good to others but have wicked thoughts and hearts. We may do many praise-worthy and celebrated deeds but have the wrong motives. We may do some things just to look good and get praise but not because that is what we truly want or love to do. We may smile at others but not really love them at all. We may do things that seem good to us and to others but are actually wrong before God.

God sees and knows everything about everything that there is to know under the sun. He knows everything about our thoughts; He knows everything that is in our hearts; He knows everything about our actions; He knows everything about our motives; He knows everything about our desires, and He knows everything about our plans. The Bible says that there is nothing that is hidden before God. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before Him to whom we must all give account (Hebrews 4:13).
Therefore, when that momentous day of judgment arrives, what other people thought about us will be of no value to us. It is God who will have all the say, and it is He alone who will determine our future destiny. If we ignored Him and pushed Him aside for the sake of our friends and those we loved and wanted to be loved by, all that will come crushing down in a moment. The popularity that we had will turn into disgrace; the pride that we had will turn into shame; the joy that we had will turn into grief, and the contentment that we had will turn into regret.

It is therefore up to us to decide who and what is more important for us to live for, and to count the cost of our choices here on earth. Eternity will be a never-ending experience, and any wrong decisions and choices that we make here on earth will cost us forevermore.

"Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." - Matthew 10:37

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever." - 1 John 2:15-17
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." - Mark 8:36-38