2 Corinthians 10:9-12 9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. 12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
When people start comparing people to others, they become their judges and become respecters of persons, something James told us was sin.
From our vantage point, some people appear outwardly better than others, but from God's perspective of the heart, there's Jesus, who is good, and there's everyone else and we're ALL bad.
It's irrelevant whether pnsn lived the kind of live that St. Francis did because pnsn is clothed in the righteousness of Christ, which God sees imputed onto him because of his faith in Christ.
God's standards ARE perfection, but since we've all already sinned and fall short of that, we are all condemned. Nobody is getting to heaven on their ability to live what others think is a seemingly holy life.
AMEN!!
His letters are weighty and strong to them because Paul was 'hot' for The Lord. "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
His bodily presence was weak because of what he was commanded and then, choose to do - speaking Truth throughout nations - he was beaten, jailed and left to die. Evil hates Truth. There is a price to pay for following JESUS but THE REWARD is priceless - so it becomes a gift to us.
".......But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding."
Paul hit it out of the park, again, with those words.