Judging Others (Part I)

Most people don’t like to be judged by others for it makes them feel unloved and rejected. However, many people have a tendency to judge others, even though they don’t like being judged by others.  So who is qualified to judge? And what does the Bible say about judging others?

He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
“Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge. Psalm 50:4-6

But the Lord shall endure forever;
He has prepared His throne for judgment.
He shall judge the world in righteousness,
And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. Psalm 9:7-8

The scriptures tell us that the Lord is the ultimate judge. The Lord is the lawgiver, and He is the only one who has the power and authority to pronounce judgement. God with His omniscience sees all things, so He is the only one who can judge fully righteous. In the Old Testament the Lord allowed certain individuals who feared Him and were truthful to be judges over people. He told Moses to set rulers over the people in groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and they were going to judge the people (See Exodus 18:21-22). That meant that the judges had certain jurisdiction, and they were not allowed to just judge anyone.

When we look at the our current U.S. judicial system, we see that every judge is assigned to a court, and the court has a certain jurisdiction whether at the federal level or at the state level. Some courts have a original jurisdiction, which means they will hear the case for the first time. Other courts have an appellate jurisdiction meaning they only hear cases on appeal basis. That tells us that even in the natural the judges have restrained authority and their power to judge is limited.

This is a sobering fact, and it shows the great responsibility of judging that is placed on some people but not on everyone. The Lord cares very much about proper judgement, and Jesus taught His disciples on this important topic.

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:1-5

Judging is measured by God

Jesus told His disciples that they should refrain from judging others, and with the measure they use, it will be measured for them. Basically, the law of sowing and reaping is in operation in judging others, so every believer should be very careful.

Judging is not just an act, but it has a cumulative effect. According to scripture, it is measured by God! Do we really want to be judged!? Judging others does not produce good fruit in the person who is judging. Have you seen a judgmental person who is peaceful and joyful!?

Working on this devotional was convicting to me, and I realized that I had to repent for the times that I had engaged in judging others. This is something we need to guard against, especially for those who are in leadership because they may feel it is appropriate for them to judge others.

Judging arrests development 

Judging others can turn into a habit, which stunts a person’s growth. A person continues to focus on other people’s deficit and shortcomings. Since man’s nature is sinful, there will always be plenty of issues that one can focus on and judge. However, this keeps the person stuck on others’ issues, which they have little or no control to change. Judging others stagnates the person’s growth because their focus is on others’ issues.

Judging opens the door to hypocrisy

Judging others opens the door for us to be seen as hypocrites by those around us. Sometimes, the very things that people judge others, they also engage in. They may not be aware of it, or they may not think that their actions are as offensive as others’ bad behavior. However, for those who are around the person, their actions and words seem hypocritical because the person is judging others about something that he/she is also doing. For example, Suzie may call her boss a bully because the boss shows his displeasure in an unkind or rude manner. However, Suzie doesn’t see that when she doesn’t get her way, she bullies others by her silence treatment or her temper tantrums.

Abstaining from judgment brings growth

Jesus tells the disciples that they should focus on what God is doing in their lives. Everyone has flaws. Some have flaws as big as logs and others’ flaws may be as small as a speck. Nevertheless, we are not in a position to appropriately determine others’ flaws when we have our own flaws that need to be dealt with. It is always easier to see others’ flaws than to see our own. In addition, others’ flaws seem more egregious than our own. Jesus wants us to be in His word and allow the mirror of God’s truth to show us the log in our eyes before we can see clearly evaluate others’ issues.

This is one of the big issues that is dealt with in many relationships including marriages. Each person can see the other person’s flaws and how they should change, but they are not in tune with their own issues and how the Lord wants to change them.

Jesus was concerned that in our relationship with Him, it will always be easy to see other people’s flaws and shortcomings. As a result, we will miss the work that God wants to do in our lives. Therefore, our focus and goal should be subjecting ourselves to the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. When there is a log in our eyes, we don’t want to miss it, but we are willing to deal with it appropriately and in a timely manner.

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay