Matthew 7:1-6
In yet another challenge to our worldly mindset Jesus continues His Sermon on the Mount by saying: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” As we seek to understand what Jesus is saying here it is important to be sure what He meant by the word “judge”. The Greek word, krino, can be used to mean “evaluate”, or “analyse”, but the rest of scripture makes it clear that Jesus does not forbid us to do that. For example, in this chapter He tells us not to “give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine” (v.6) and to “beware of false prophets” whom we will know “by their fruits” (vv.15-16). We need to use our judgement to discern who those people are.
Likewise, Paul gave Timothy a list of qualities to look for in those he appointed as church leaders (1 Timothy 3:2-13) and wrote to Titus that he should “reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition” (Titus 3:10). He also told believers that they should bring correction to fellow believers whom they see going astray (Galatians 6:1). All those instructions require us to be aware of the faults and weaknesses of the people around us. And the apostle John certainly did not hold back when writing about a man called Diotrephes, who was doing damage to the church. He said of him that he “loves to have the preeminence… prating against us with malicious words…. does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church” (3 John 1:9-10).
So, Jesus does not forbid us to recognise the faults of others. Nor does He say that we should give our approval to everyone else’s behaviour. What He does make clear, however, is that we are not to take the role of a judge and pronounce sentence on them. Who are we to condemn other people as if we were superior to them? The picture Jesus describes of someone with a plank in their own eye trying to remove a speck of dirt from the eye of another person shows how ridiculous it is to think that we have any reason to be self-righteous and judgemental. The truth is that we mess up just as much as the next person and our faults may well be greater than those of the people we rebuke. God alone has the right to judge.
Romans 14:4a,10,12 “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls… But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ… So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”
Have you noticed how much easier it is to spot the faults of other people than to see our own? And how easy it is to make excuses for ourselves and justify our mistakes, while being harsh about the failings of other people? Jesus said that we will be judged by God according to the way we judge others. Is the way you see others the way you want God to look at you?
Prayer
Father God,
Please forgive me for the times when I have criticised and condemned my fellow believers for their faults while being oblivious to my own. I ask You to help me to stay humbly aware of my personal shortcomings, so that I will not be a self-righteous judge of other people’s weaknesses. Just as You have shown grace and kindness to me in spite of all my failings, may I always show that same love and gentleness to my brothers and sisters in Christ, even when they do things I don’t think they should.
Amen.
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