"1 Judge not that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."
Matthew 7:1-2 NKJV
If we were called to judge, we would have been given a long black gown and a curly grey wig, when we were born again. The bottom line? No, we are not called to judge anyone.
Here, Jesus does not forbid criticism, opinions or the condemnation of wrongdoing. What He forbids is the spirit of faultfinding that overlooks one's own shortcomings while assuming the role of supreme judge in regard to the sins of others. None of us are perfect, we all have some curious ways and we blow it many days while trying to walk the Christian walk. The problem is, we tend to forget ourselves at times, thinking ourselves better than the other person. We carry a chip on our shoulder and it can be so easy to point the finger at some person.
This can happen when we're in a church setting. We may hear someone give a word that is calling someone to come forward for prayer and, straightaway, we can think, 'Yes, they need to go forward for prayer; they have been getting away with this for too long.' We then, can sit waiting and willing them to go forward. But, really, with an attitude like that, it should be us that need to go forward for prayer and forgiveness, not this other person.
It is so easy when we are in a group and a conversation springs up about some Christian brother or sister. Before too long, we can be guilty of listening to gossip and not only that, adding to it as well. What we should be doing, is shutting the conversation down by either walking away or challenging the group by saying, 'Do you think that we should be talking like this?'
We have concerns about people, of course we do; but these concerns would be more suited to either speak to the person or, pass the concerns on, if needed, to someone in authority. It should never be used for gossip or judgement.
We need to remember that when we judge someone, inappropriately, that same measure of judgement will come back on us, from Jesus Himself. What Jesus hates about this type of behaviour, is that when a person judges someone else, they are often guilty of the same or a similar type of thing, which in itself, is hypocritical.
Let us beware of our behaviour; of what comes out of our minds and our mouths. None of us are perfect and we will all have to give an account, one day, about what we have done and said. Let us rid ourselves of all types of things that will hold us back. When we criticise or judge someone, we never know what they are going through in their life. It is far better to handle things like Jesus would, with love and sincerity.
Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard
