For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:2
I have been thinking a lot about my judgmental attitude lately. I have hastily drawn the wrong conclusion after one action from persons, then later I ashamedly discover that I was mistaken in judgment and find myself repenting for my erroneous thoughts. I could have saved myself all this trouble by not jumping to judgments, but rather walking in mercy and love, knowing I do not have the insight into the reason for decisions made or actions done by others.
It is amazing that when we have a plank in our own eye how we are able to perceive and criticize the dust in someone else's eye. We sometimes ignore self-reflection in order to see what is wrong about ourselves so that we make a change. Too often we ignore looking at the man or woman in the mirror, which is the Holy Word of God.
We should not judge merely by appearance, but by righteous judgement. (See John 7:24). However, we cannot have righteous judgement if we are not right with God. What we may think looks good, God rejects as He sees beyond the skin to scrutinize the heart. We often miss that people may do the right things for the wrong reasons, which in itself could be a big problem. Conversely, there are those who may do the wrong thing with the right motives, so we really need to get to the heart of the matter. The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? Only the Lord can search the heart and examine the mind. (See Jeremiah 17:9-10)
We need to ask God, like David did, to search us and know our hearts and to try us and know our anxious thoughts. (See Psalm 139:23) Then, we must implore Him to create in us a clean heart and to renew a steadfast spirit within us. (See Psalm 51:10).
For there to be true justice we must have righteous judgment. 'You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. (Leviticus 19:15) Justice and judgment goes hand in hand. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.(Psalm 89:14 KJV) Other versions of the Bible basically say righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. The foundation of God’s throne is justice and righteous judgment. His mercy and truth is equated with love and faithfulness. In a recent Bible study with ladies from my neighborhood, it was astutely pointed out that we cannot effectively pray for someone if we do not love them and we are judgmental of them. That was a profound truth that impacted me immediately. My wrong judgment and lack of love moves me out of the will of God and in turn, I cannot pray for the person I am judging with a right heart. My prayers could be very wrong because my motives are wrong. James said we ask and do not receive because we ask with wrong motives. He was speaking about petitioning God to receive what we want to spend it on our pleasures. But, we could think of this verse in a larger context because we selfishly pray in unrighteous judgment. Prayers in this manner, thankfully often do not get a yes from God because they are not in His will and could be detrimental for the one who is being prayed for.
We need to remember we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, so when others sin, we should be careful to gently restore them while not falling into the same temptation. Remember that it is the kindness of God that brings us to repentance, so we need to be tolerant and patient with others. This is difficult for me to write as I am being convicted. You see, I am quick to walk away from those who I feel are “unsaveable.” But yet, wallowing in my own sin, Jesus never gave up on me and drew me to Himself. Therefore, instead of passing quick judgement, let us look to God for direction on how to respond to others.
Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. Isaiah 30:18
Let us endeavor to be slow to judge, but rather give grace and compassion abundantly, while treating others justly. We should seek after God and wait to gain His discernment on a situation so that we can properly pray, encourage and help others.
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