Judging

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1)

This verse is often quoted by people today, usually when there is some kind of moral issue or dilemma that is being discussed. It is a good way to not take a stand on a controversial issue and thus avoid criticism while also winning points for being patient and tolerant. Tolerance has become the highest good in our culture. The only thing that we will not tolerate is intolerance! Being judgmental is the opposite of being tolerant. Tolerance is almost always associated with love while being judgmental is associated with hatred and bigotry. It is assumed that at the root of all racism, sexism, homophobia and violence is the intolerance that comes from hatefully judging others. We of course must acknowledge that people do hate each other and that this hatred does often erupt in violence. Obviously there is a kind of judgment that is destructive and evil which is not tolerated by the Lord and therefore should not be tolerated by men. It is always wise to define our terms and know what we are talking about. And when we look more closely at what it means to judge something or someone, and why Jesus forbade a certain kind of judging of others, we are going to be in for a bit of a surprise.

The ability to make judgments is indispensable in life. The fact is that we make judgments on a daily basis. We must do this in order to survive and to make wise decisions. Whatever we might say about the evils of judging others, there are people out there that we would immediately judge and intentionally avoid. If someone appeared to be threatening and potentially harmful we would judge that person unsafe and avoid them at all costs. We spend a lot of time judging others to make sure that they are safe and trustworthy. Of course, our judgments can be wrong. We might mistakenly think that a person is harmful who might be quite friendly. We make these mistakes because we often make quick judgments that are based on feelings and perceptions rather than on facts. To make a true and right judgment we must have the facts. Even if we have the facts, we must be able to correctly interpret these facts. Some facts may be missing so that we do not have a full and clear picture of the truth. Before we make a judgment we should at least be willing to get as many facts as we can and not judge something or someone prematurely. That being said, we can never dispense with the need to make judgments about many things, particularly other people.

We can only judge what we can see. We cannot judge the heart or the motives. And we cannot see the end to be able to make the final judgment. If having the facts is necessary to making the right judgement, it should be obvious to us that when we judge others we are really judging what we hear and see. We judge actions and words. Of course, we may still misunderstand or misinterpret what someone does or says. We might hear someone say something and we judge it to be offensive, when the person actually had no malice toward us at all. On the other hand we can be deceived by soft and flattering words from someone who is actually plotting our demise! Therefore, we must not be hasty in our judgments of others. We need to wait until we see all the evidence before drawing conclusions. We should allow people to be innocent until proven guilty by their deeds. Of course, a person might change. This is why we can never make the final judgment of a person’s eternal destiny. As long as they are alive there is the possibility of change. Only God knows the end. Nothing is completely nailed down, at least from this side of eternity.

There are people who cannot and should not make judgments of others. And now we are coming closer to what the Lord Jesus meant in the Sermon on the Mount when He forbade us to judge others. The ones enthusiastically quoting the verses about not judging others usually have no idea about the context of these words. As someone has said, “a text without a context is just a pretext.” That is, we can make the Bible mean almost anything we want if we are not interested in what the author or speaker was actually intending. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus also said: “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you” (Matthew 7:6). This verse almost immediately follows the command not to judge. But this raises an important question: if we are not to judge others then how are we to tell who are the dogs and pigs? Jesus is not literally speaking of animals here, but of certain kinds of people. It sounds like a judgment to come to the conclusion that a person is a pig or a dog in their character! So Jesus must not have forbidden all judgments. What is Jesus saying? There is another clue in the surrounding verses. Jesus asks some penetrating questions:

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye” (Matthew 7:3-5).

This seems to be the key to the entire discussion of making judgments of others. If you cannot see, you cannot judge! Our own sins cause spiritual blindness making it impossible for us to properly see and judge the character of other people. But notice that Jesus does not say that this means we can never judge others. We must first be able to see, which means dealing with our own faults first. And then the whole purpose of being able to see the faults of others is so that we can help them. In other words, our judging of others is to bring healing and not further hurt to their lives.

God is a judge, yet He is also merciful and seeks the salvation and ultimate good of all people. Jesus did not come to judge the world, but to save it. I am sure that Jesus was speaking a word against the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law, those religious leaders of the Jews who had only an external appearance of righteousness. These religious leaders were not helping to heal the people but were only causing further harm. In speaking to His disciples in this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expects a righteousness that goes beyond mere appearances. Jesus expects His disciples to make righteous judgments based on truth and with a view toward bringing healing and salvation to the world. If we are to be sons of God, we must be righteous. This means we must be able to discern the difference between what is good and what is evil. This is exactly what it means to judge. But unless our own eyes are open, being illuminated with the light and truth of God, we cannot judge anything correctly. When we are enlightened, we first repent and deal with our own sins. In other words, we judge ourselves! Those who are not willing to first become their own judge are simply not able to correctly judge anyone else and will eventually come under the final judgment of Divine scrutiny.