Judge Not....

"So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” Matthew 15:16-20

Whether a Christian says it or an unbeliever, one of the most commonly used phrases is,"Don't judge" or "Don't be judgmental." It is often used as a reprimand against someone for saying something deemed negative about another person. However, when somebody says something regarded as positive, then that is okay. If you say that a woman is pretty or a man is handsome, people just say, "thank you." If you say a child is precious or well-behaved, then that is acceptable. But, dare you call a man or woman unattractive or say a child is not cute or poorly behaved. You will most likely be chastised for what you said. Yet, whether what you say is positive or negative, they are both judgments. A judgment is nothing more than "the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions." It says nothing about those decisions being positive, negative, acceptable or unacceptable. Often times the Bible is used as a justification not to make judgments. How often are Matthew 7 or John 8 used as proof texts to caution us against judging? In Matthew 7:1-4, Jesus says, “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?" This is a classic passage because it is assumed that Jesus is only saying, "Don't ever judge unless you want to be judged in return. When in fact, He is saying to judge with a standard you are willing to be judged with yourself and not be a hypocrite. That is why He concludes the passage by saying, "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 7:5)." Once you have addressed an issue in your own life, then you can address that same issue in another person's life.

Then in John 8, you have the popular story about the woman caught in adultery. A group of Pharisees brought this woman to Jesus to try and find fault with Him concerning the Mosaic Law. In the middle of their conversation Jesus says,  “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first (John 8:7).” Eventually, the Pharisees disbanded and Jesus let the woman go. Verse 7 is often used by people as a cover for sin. Basically, what people believe is that unless you are sinless, what right do you have to judge another person as sinful? If a person cannot make a judgment about sin unless they are sinless, then when can you ever say something is sinful? This is just a way to try and silence Christians so that people engaging in sin can do so without any obstacles. What Jesus meant in John 8:7, pertained to the Pharisees and their violation of the Mosaic Law; in bringing just the woman to Him and not the man. In Leviticus 20:10, it says, "The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death." Therefore, when Jesus said, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first, "He was referring to their sin of violating the Mosaic Law by not bringing the man, who committed adultery, along with the woman. He wasn't referring to sin, in general. So, neither one of these popular passages have anything to do with not judging others; at least not in the sense they are often used by people. The question must be asked, is it ever okay to judge? While I would never say it is okay to just put down someone or even to give a compliment you don't believe, there are times when judgments can be made.

Along with people saying not to judge unless you want to be judged or that you can only judge if you're without sin, the underlying belief behind it all is that you can't judge because you don't know a person's heart. Is this true? It depends. What people fail to realize is that what people say and do is a reflection of what they believe in their heart. In fact, Jesus said as much in Matthew 15. He said that what comes out of a person's mouth begins in their heart. Therefore, when a person has evil thoughts which lead to things like murder, adulteries, fornication, thefts, bearing false witness and blasphemies, I believe that we are justified in judging others. It is one thing to give your opinion about somebody's looks or other "superficial" matters, but when it comes to what's right and wrong or sinful and wholesome, then we have to be able to make a judgment. Otherwise, we will end up living in a world where people only do what is right in their own eyes and that is a recipe for disaster. Without God's Word as a standard by which to judge, anything goes. And when anything goes, anything will go. It is only by using God's standard, His Word, that the right judgments can be made.