We shared this message on our prayer line this morning
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “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? 4 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? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matt. 7:1-5
This familiar passage of Scripture is getting harder and harder to live by with the advent of so many competition shows on TV. It seems we are always being judged about something. Whether its the way we cook, the way we sing, or how we dress. There is always someone that thinks they are authorized to judge us.
According to Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1, we choose to be authentic by not judging others. Too many people are eager to quote the “judge not” part of His statement as a blanket prohibition on all evaluation, critique, or confrontation. Seldom is the entire context of Christ’s words taken into account. “Judge not” doesn’t mean judge nothing.[1]
Actions are among the few things that can be judged. Evil should be called evil. Sin must be identified as sin. Good actions can be judged as good. We should want these matters pointed out in our lives and may need to graciously point them out in the lives of others. But judgment must be guarded wisely and with the gift of discernment. Authentic Christ-followers learn when and how to judge.
Here are some matters we shouldn’t judge:
1) Don’t judge motives. We don’t know why people do what they do. God alone knows the intentions of our hearts and can respond as only He can. When we presume to grasp motives, we are stepping dangerously into His area of responsibility. It was F.B. Meyer, I believe, who once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances.
2) Don’t judge appearance. The color of a person’s skin, their clothes, their possessions, and environmental factors are not a basis for judgment. Appearance-based verdicts are notoriously off the mark because they ignore the person—someone God loves. In his little book Illustrations of Bible Truth, H.A. Ironside pointed out the folly of judging others. He related an incident in the life of a man called Bishop Potter. “He was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners. When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin with him. After going to see the accommodations, he came up to the purser’s desk and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe. He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth. Judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person. The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked, ‘It’s all right, bishop, I’ll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has been up here and left his for the same reason!'”
3) Don’t judge harshly. When we do have to make a judgment call, we must season it with grace, as we know we would want to be treated if the roles were reversed. We sometimes criticize others unfairly. We don’t know all their circumstances, nor their motives. Only God, who is aware of all the facts, is able to judge people righteously. John Wesley told of a man he had little respect for because he considered him to be miserly and covetous. One day when this person contributed only a small gift to a worthy charity, Wesley openly criticized him.
After the incident, the man went to Wesley privately and told him he had been living on parsnips and water for several weeks. He explained that before his conversion, he had run up many bills. Now, by skimping on everything and buying nothing for himself he was paying off his creditors one by one. “Christ has made me an honest man,” he said, “and so with all these debts to pay, I can give only a few offerings above my tithe. I must settle up with my worldly neighbors and show them what the grace of God can do in the heart of a man who was once dishonest.” Wesley then apologized to the man and asked his forgiveness.
The Lord’s words as a whole caution us to always consider how we want to be judged and measured before we apply our standards to anyone else. Exempting ourselves from the standards by which we measure others is blatant hypocrisy. His summary teaching was, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12).
Jesus used the “speck in the eye” example in Matthew 7:3 to make the point that we choose to be authentic by judging ourselves. Too often we deflect or avoid significant problems of our own by pointing out the shortcomings of others. The Lord was clear: first we must deal with our own issues honestly before Him. Only then can we rightly reflect His truth and grace when we speak to others about issues in their lives.
The world does take notice when followers of Jesus act authentically. Our generation needs to see real Christ-followers as badly as any other time in history. But the world has little patience with people who claim to be Christians but act in hypocritical ways.
One poet put it this way-
A little seed lay in the ground, And soon began to sprout.
“Now which of all the flowers around”, It mused, “Shall I come out?”
The lily’s face is fair, and proud, But just a trifle cold;
The rose, I think is rather loud, and then, its fashion’s old.
The violet is all very well, But not a flower I’d choose,
Nor yet the Canterbury bell, I ne’er cared for blues.”
And so it criticized each flower This supercilious seed,
Until it work one summer hour, And found itself a weed.![2]
So here’s the trick – actually, the command: look at each other in love (Mark 12:30, 31). Look at each other as companions on the way rather than competitors in a race. Look at each other as fellow children of God, deserving of love, honor, and respect. If we can do that…all the rest falls into place.[3]
[1] http://www.jamesmacdonald.com/teaching/devotionals/2014-02-28/
[2] http://stanchfieldbaptist.blogspot.com/2011/07/judging-others-matthew-71-6.html
Chronicles of a Latch Key Kid 