The Truth About Judging

The Truth About Judging

Blog: By Monique Stallings

Today I want everyone to understand that Jesus Christ started His ministry when He was 30 years old, and in that time the Lord showed us how we should carry ourselves as a follower of Christ. Moreover, we must not have our own opinion, but only what He says and does.

I want to give everyone a prime example of what Jesus tells His followers about judging others.

Judging Others

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³ “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? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (7:1-5 NIV)

According to the scripture, the meaning about judging deals with Jesus who was rebuking the hypocritical, judgmental attitude that tears others down in order to build oneself up. This is not a blanket statement to overlook sinful behavior of others but a call to be discerning rather than negative. Ignoring things done wrong shows that we have lost our moral compass. This leads to relativism, a worldview in which all actions, moral or not are equally acceptable.  Jesus said to expose false prophets (7:15-25), and Paul taught that we should exercise church discipline (1 Corinthians 5:1-2) and trust God to be the final judge (1 Corinthians 4:3-5). (Life Application Study Bible, page 2082, 1984)

Adding on, “Jesus tells us to examine our own motives and conduct instead of judging others. We often feel perverse pleasure when we bring someone down. But often the faults that bother us in others are the very traits we dislike about ourselves. Our bad habits and behaviors are the very ones that we most want to point out in others.  Do you find it easy to catalog others’ faults while excusing. your own? Criticism of others will lead to disdain for them and eventually will make you feel contempt for another person also created in God’s image. If you are ready to criticize someone, check to see if you deserve the same criticism. Judge yourself first, and then kindly forgive the other person.” (Life Application Study Bible, page 2082, 1984)