Do not judge so
that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and
by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2
Life is relationships and relationships are about
people. Much of our conversation is
naturally about people in our family, church and world because we are
interested and involved with them. Talking about people is not a sin but how we talk about them can hurt our
relationships.
Reasons We Observe Behavior
As
humans we have natural tendencies to observe the behaviors and actions of
others for many reasons:
- Protection – We don’t want to be endangered by another.
- Curiosity – People are just interesting and fun to watch.
- Comparison – Although scripture is clear when it says For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. (2 Corinthians 10:12), we are still prone to see how we measure up to others and evaluate ourselves on that basis.
- Responsibility – We feel responsible for someone and feel it necessary to watch them.
- Love – We love someone and enjoy observing them.
Our natural tendencies to observe the behaviors and
actions of others cause all of us to be drawn into the possibility of
condemnation or judging. The issue here
is not that we should not talk about others since relationships demand that. The issue is whether we harm someone by
judging or condemning their actions with our attitude or criticism.
Jesus’ concern for followers
Jesus
is concerned that His followers not share God’s Gospel of Grace with the same
self-righteous attitude as the Pharisees who had become “Misguided Nitpickers” in proclaiming the Laws of God. Knowledge is power and can be abused with
pride and to do the right thing the wrong way is to do the wrong thing. If we judge people before we listen and
understand we will alienate them and to alienate is to lose the opportunity to
influence. Stephen Covey says
"seek first to understand and then to be understood."
The
truth is we are not always right about others. The reason: we are not qualified to properly
and perfectly judge. The Lord is the
only One who knows the unseen and the unknown. A vital mission of the church is to bring
light into the darkness and to open blinded eyes in order to set the captive
free. However, this is not a mandate to attack those in the darkness, condemn
those who are blind, or revile the captive.
So when you think about someone, or assess them, you
have to ask whether you are doing that with an attitude of wanting to
understand them and who they are before God... with a desire to build up and
grow the church and kingdom…or if you are doing it in any way to put someone
down, or put her in her place, or condemn him, or pass on gossip. Is our attitude one that shows concern for the
other person? Does it have a desire to
restore the person if in fact they have sinned? Jesus says if we judge with an attitude of
simply putting people down that will influence how God will judge us. But if we judge with an attitude of caring and
helping and building and forgiving the measure we use will be measured to us.
Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2
