Judging

Have you ever heard somebody say this, “you have no right to judge me” or hear somebody quote Matthew 7:3-4, “"And why do you look at the speck 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,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?"

Is it true that we are in jeopardy of hell fire if we do judge? Well, lets explore this just a little. First of all, everyone is guilty of judging whether they choose to admit it or not. When we wake up in the morning, we choose the clothing that we wear based on our likes or dislikes. That is a judgment. When we choose what we want to eat, that is a judgment. When we go to Walmart to buy light bulbs and we choose to buy the GE brand instead of the Great Value brand; that is a judgment. So, judging is not inherently improper.

So what makes judging inherently improper or proper? The answer is quite simply, motive.

When it comes to people, especially amongst the religious types, judging others tends to raise red flags and everyone jumps on the bandwagon of "Do not judge lest you be judged yourselves" (Matthew 7:1, NASB). Although at first glance this seems to be straight-forward, it becomes a little more murky when you throw in two other sayings of Jesus found in John 7:24, “"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment”; and Luke 12:57, "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?" Jesus was not requiring us to look the other way and to ignore things going on around us that is wrong. Rather, He was prohibiting judgment that was intentionally inaccurate and malicious. You see, because Jesus is the son of God he understands that sometimes people are quick to judge and criticize others because they are trying to cover up their own shortcomings and flaws. They do that by pointing out the minor flaws in others to hide the bigger flaws in themselves. Unfortunately, we are all guilty of doing this from time to time. I won’t even pretend to be flawless in this area.

So what was the point Jesus was trying to make with Matthew 7:3-4? He was prohibiting judgment that is rendered based on wrong motives. He was dealing with those persons who cannot render godly constructive correction because they have not dealt effectively with their own faults. These are the kind of people who do not seek to correct, forgive, restore and reconcile brothers and sisters to God. Instead, they intentionally do all that they can to make other peoples’ lives miserable for personal pleasure or gain.

So what type of judging is proper? When we ask God to help us with the sin in our own lives, the Holy Spirit removes those things that cloud our vision and helps us to judge things from God’s perspective: in love, seeking the best interest of the person being judged. Ultimately, the goal of righteous judgment is to bring another person closer to God. Introspectively, I need to let the Holy Spirit continue to help me in this area and I suspect that I am not alone.