You Be The Judge

by Andrew Cromwell

One of Jesus' more familiar quotes is, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."  I am convinced this is one of the most abused and misunderstood passages in Scripture.  You hear it used all the time by those who don't want to be told their behavior is inappropriate.  "Don't judge me," they say, "cause Jesus said you have no right!"  I have even heard it used repeatedly as an excuse to get dismissed from jury duty.  "I can't judge," people say, "because I'm a Christian and Jesus said not to."  

This passage is found in the seventh chapter of Matthew and when you read the four verses that follow the oft-quoted phrase, you discover that Jesus is neither giving people a pass for bad behavior, nor a lame jury excuse.  What He is saying is that we have a problem with putting ourselves into God's shoes and trying to be the ultimate judge.  We love to criticize, tear people down to size and generally put people in their place.

It is not that there is any problem with encouraging someone to come out of an addiction or be faithful to their spouse or not cheat on their taxes.  On the contrary, these things are desirable and Christ wants us to be a help to our fellow human being.  The problem is the way we do it!  

The truth is that we all have areas in our lives that do not measure up to God's standard. And when we judge and criticize another with an attitude that says, "I have a right to judge you," we are sorely mistaken.  Even Christ Himself said that He didn't come to judge in that way, instead He came to save.  

The difference is love.  It is said that love covers a multitude of sins.  It is said, because it does.  Jesus came to cover us with His love so that we could once again have an open relationship with Father God without separation or distance.  Jesus' love was so obvious to people that even the worst sinners flocked to Him. 

We, on the other hand, have a difficulty with that kind of love.  We get love confused with approval.  We are afraid if we love someone they will get the idea that we approve of their bad behavior.  So we do what is easy and shut off the love and bring out the judgment.  

Judgment is so much easier than love. It knows only right or wrong without grey. It requires no relationship. It demands no sacrifice. It costs you nothing.  

Love on the other hand, can cost you everything.    

Judging

by Tim Howard 

Three weeks ago my grandson’s kindergarten teacher contacted me about his recent behavior. She said he has been so busy critiquing everybody else and pointing out his or her faults that he has lost sight of his own shortcomings.

I was instantly reminded of Jesus when he taught the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7. He said: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

Those words were spoken in the context of a discussion about judging people for what they do or what they don’t do. Jesus simply said don’t do that! Matt. 7:1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged…” Ultimately, that’s what the teacher told my grandson. Stop doing that - focus on yourself first.

The desire to judge people starts early in life and I’m convinced we’re all susceptible to the temptation. We like to put people in their place before putting ourselves in their place. Someone said: “Never judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes.”

If you are going to judge anybody, however, start with yourself!  Matt. 7:5 “… first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” We tend to focus on the foibles, faults and failures of others before we clean up our own act. Maybe that reveals how highly we view ourselves and how lowly we view others. Maybe our thoughts say: If they were just like us then the world would be a better place. Really?

Maybe, just maybe the best idea is to let God do the Judging. After all, He is the only one who sees clearly. He sees the past, present and future. He not only looks on the exterior of mankind but inside where the motives and attitudes reside. The Bible says He is the only one qualified to bring all mankind into accountability when everything comes to an end. Further more, Jesus didn’t come to judge but to rescue those who call out to him. John 3:17-18.  You will win the favor of a lot more people if you try to help them rather than hurl your opinions at them with a derogatory attitude.

Jesus didn’t mean we should not draw conclusions or evaluate things around us. We must make judgments between good and bad; right and wrong as well as what is good and best. The person who believes all he or she hears and accepts everyone who claims to be true will experience confusion and great loss. They must make judgments. They don’t, however, have to be judgmental and that’s at the crux of this teaching found in Matthew 7.

Being judgmental is to point out something that is wrong in someone else’s life, making the person feel put down, excluded and marginalized. When your tone becomes condemning and condescending the door to being judgmental has opened. If you equate your personal preferences with God’s truth and add your opinions to God’s word, you have a recipe for a good batch of judgment that’s gone astray.

If you want to live at peace with others, take the words of Jesus to heart. 

Use this as a rule of thumb: Judge things but let God judge people!