It’s the mantra of the day: “I try not to judge people.” Popular sayings roll off the tongue so easily, don’t they? Problem is, popular doesn’t always equal wise.
As with other commonly held philosophies, Christians can get confused and believe this way of looking at things is biblical. After all, Jesus said we shouldn’t judge, right?
Yes, but let’s take a closer look:
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 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? … 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 7:1-5.
Here Jesus is warning against self-righteous judgmentalism. Truth is, we are all hypocrites, so before we start correcting other people, we need to take a look at our own issues.
But notice what comes next: After we get the log our of our own eye, we can see clearly to — what? — get the speck out of the other person’s eye.
This tells me we have a place to speak into each others’ lives despite our own imperfections.
While Jesus taught that we should examine ourselves before offering correction to others, he also told the Jewish leaders,
“You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?”
His scathing remark has to do with making correct evaluations. So there is a sense in which we SHOULD judge.
Judging is not wrong in and of itself.
As a matter of fact, Paul writes in I Corinthians 6:2-3,
“…do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!”
We have no right to point the finger at others just to one-up them — but we do have a responsibility to make correct judgments about moral issues.
The problem is, we’ve been fed the drivel of moral relativism, which says there are no absolutes. If there are no absolutes, then there is no standard with which to judge.
Therefore, all judging is wrong.
Wait … that sounds like a moral absolute.
And therein lays the irony. There’s no such thing as right and wrong; therefore, it’s wrong to say that a certain behavior is wrong. Hmmm…
It sounds noble to claim that we don’t judge others, but in truth, it’s an arrogant and misguided assumption. We are all bent toward self-righteousness.
I judge people less than you do, therefore I’m better than you. See how that works?
It also makes no sense. Are you really not going to make a judgment call when someone shoots into a crowd of innocent people, or steals an elderly widow’s identity?
Some stuff is just wrong!
So here’s my invitation to you: Please do go ahead and judge me — but only under these circumstances:
- You see an issue in my life which I am blind to.
- You care enough about me to speak the truth in love.
- You’re willing to get the log out of your own eye first.
If that’s all happening, you are welcome to “judge” me. I’ll be better off for it.
How have you been sucked into thinking that all judging is wrong?
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