DID JESUS REALLY SAY WE SHOULDN'T JUDGE?

DID JESUS REALLY SAY WE SHOULDN'T JUDGE?

To Judge is to form an opinion or conclusion about or on anything. O how quick we are to always quote the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-3 where He said,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “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?"

Luke also quotes a similar verse later on in the Bible in Luke 6:37:

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Contrary to popular opinion, when I go through these two verses I read Jesus warning us of the consequential repercussions of judging. So He was asking more or less for us to judge aright more than not to judge at all. How do I know that? Well that is simple because if he really said we should not judge at all, then we have no right to even commend anyone for good as well because that would also amount to judging. When we are commended, we hardly realize that we are being judged just because it has pleasant connotations to it. That is also judgement!

That is why Jesus wasn't saying to us that we should never judge, instead He was revealing a principle of sowing and reaping. In that principle everything you give to someone will be given back to you. So in effect Jesus was asking us quoting the words of Ravi Zacharias, “to make judicious judgements instead of being judgemental." What's the difference?

The difference is simple; the one who is judgemental judges without taking into consideration their own weaknesses and so is robbed of the graciousness required in order to help the person being judged become better. The one who makes judicious judgements on the other hand, judges graciously because they recognize that the only time they should judge is when they have judged themselves. This is how the Apostle Paul taught the people in Galatia to judge judiciously:

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
Galatians 6:1(NLT)

So the Apostle did not just want them to look on without doing anything about wrong doing but to go in head on to deal with it but with grace and a sober self-introspection. I remember preaching at a certain university earlier this year when I decided to ask everyone present to share whatever weaknesses they were going through after I took sometime to share mine. When it got to the turn of this boy who mentioned a troubling homosexual childhood, one girl really got ticked off by the comment that she expressed her disgust openly. According to her she could not understand why anyone could ever have homosexual feelings. Sometimes we forget that we have been spared some experiences only by the grace of God. When we understand that we made no contribution to God saving us and bringing us to Himself, we will appreciate grace for exactly what it is supposed to be: unmerited.

I will always say that the Church is a hospital where people come to be healed and not a keeping-up-an-appearance club where the best pretender gets celebrated and promoted. This doesn’t also mean that Christians should embrace the moral relativity of our time that seeks to justify everything on the grounds of “it depends on the person.” God is the standard and no other human being! I believe that when we all become honest enough to compare ourselves to the God standard, we will see how much we fall short and consequently see the need for a saviour Jesus Christ. He is the one who saves us and gives us the ability to go and bring others to the same saving knowledge.

Beloved let us continue to judge, both when it pleasant or unpleasant but only when we have checked to see where we are on the same scale we are using to judge others. I leave you with the words of Ebo Whyte of Roverman Productions who said “the only person you can change is yourself.” I will continue from there to say that "after you change yourself, it will be easier to judge or change others."