“Judge Not”
No biblical phrase has been more overused, or abused. Was Jesus actually saying that we should have no discernment?  what did he really mean and how do we steer clear of breaking this commandment?
The sermon on the mount where this was spoken, was written primarily to correct the faults religion of the Pharisees.
So what are the signs of judgmentalism and how do we steer clear of it.
- We shouldn’t exercise authority over people that we do not possess.
Jesus set shepherds in the church to discern false prophets, and open sin against God‘s Word (1 Corinthians 5). As members of a church, we are called to submit to one another, not judge one another. We should not possess the gift of suspicion.
- We shouldn’t treat  suspicions or rumors as fact.
Judgmentalism puts opinions ahead of the facts. We must make a full, investigation of a matter to obtain clear proof. Even God came down to see that’s how a Babel and the wickedness of Solomon Gomorrah before he poured out His judgment.
I have an example of this: today I was at the store and bought beer. A lady that goes to my church seen it, and I could tell by the look on her face she was judging me. I’m not in the habit of trying to hide my life from others. I was buying it for some guests coming over that I thought they would like a beer with their meal. She was judging me before she had the facts.
- We shouldn’t presume to know the motives of peoples actions.
Anyone can judge actions. It is obvious. The problem comes when you decide to know the “Why” of those actions.
Only God knows person to motives. He will judge everyone, including us at the judgment seat of Christ to reveal our true motives.
- We shouldn’t be quick to detect minor, faults and others, while being blind to our own sins.
Roman’s 2:1 says,
“Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things.”
Judgement puts opinions ahead of facts.
- We shouldn’t judge things that are not clearly spelled out in the Bible.
God’s Word is perfect and does not need us to add to it our own condemnation.
- We shouldn’t ignore everything favorable about a person and fixate only on an unfavorable trait.
Judgement shouldn’t become personal and not prejudice. In court any juror with a personal relationship to a defendant is disqualified.
When it becomes personal our desire is to condemn a person rather than get rid of the evil in a person.
- We shouldn’t spread our wrong conclusions to others.
People on social media have a habit of sounding off on people with only knowing a fraction of the facts. Later after learning the whole truth, they make no effort To go back and inform others the whole truth. Which can cost others their reputations.
- We shouldn’t pronounce final judgment on any person.
Only God can do that. We may judge their actions, but we cannot judge the person themselves.
There is a lot of judgment going on in the world today. Just be careful with your words if you don’t know the whole truth of a situation. Not only can it ruin a persons reputation in some cases it can be dangerous for the other person.
Ask yourself:
- Do you have the full context of the situation?
- Are there other possible explanations for their behavior?
- How would I feel if I were in their shoes?
From Pity to Praise 