We Must Judge…But Carefully
Judging is very difficult, because it requires a hard balance.
- Some think we should make no judgments at all, because that is loving. (Although they don’t recognize the irony in that, because they have made a judgment to decide they should not judge.)
- Others are too quick to judge about everything. (They are often seen stalking in the comments section of your social media accounts.)
An example of the latter occurred recently in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Local police were tipped off that someone was violating covid-19 lockdown orders and sitting inside a restaurant. The tip was sent in because, in that location, no restaurants were to be open for in-person dining, but there was a person, clearly sitting at a booth in a local diner-like restaurant. So this person felt it was their duty to call the cops to go break up this clear violation.
The police did their job, arriving on the “scene of the crime,” but they did not arrest anyone or even give a citation. Why? There was no person sitting in the restaurant. The “criminal” was a mannequin. [Source]
Now, to be fair, the mannequin was sitting in a booth. But that’s about the only “human-like” quality it had. It had no facial features, no ears, and no hair and, of course, it never moved. Would it have been so difficult for the person to at least come near the window to be certain that a real violation was being committed, instead of just making the phone call and turning in the restaurant and “customer?”
Yet, how often are we just as quick to make a snap judgment of others, before doing even casual investigation to make sure we have the facts right? So, should we just avoid any judging whatsoever, so that we avoid such snap judgments and such ridiculous outcomes?
Matthew 7:1 does begin by stating, “Judge not,” but that simply is not all Jesus said on the matter. If we would read even just the next couple of lines, we would get Jesus’s point.
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is 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,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
(Matthew 7:1-5)
Jesus’s point was not to avoid any type of judgments. Judgments are a necessary part of life, including making judgments about other people. If they weren’t, how could we possibly “recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16)?
What Jesus was saying was simply this: be careful when and how you judge, because you are going to face judging also. If you are hypercritical, don’t be surprised when people are hypercritical toward you. If you are not patient and thoughtful in judging, then don’t expect people to be patient and thoughtful in making their judgments of you.
Yes, we must judge, but let’s be careful about it.
Let’s at least make sure we can tell that this is actually a person, not a mannequin! And then, let’s remember to treat them like a person, made in the image of God.
To Receive Every Article from A Legacy of Faith through Email for Free, Click Here
AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
