As I said on Monday, I have been making extreme efforts not to judge anyone or anything lately. I felt like I was becoming very judgmental lately (even if it was just in my mind), and I felt like God was pushing me to take a look at what was happening.
For me, I usually go from one extreme to the other. If somebody says I’m talking too loud, I whisper as opposed to just talking normal. So when it came to judging and I felt like God was the one telling me I was judging too much, I flipped the switch and tried to remove all judgement from my life. But does God really want us to never judge anybody or anything?
I believe as Christians we have to judge things. For example, if we never judged anything it would be near impossible for us to know the difference between right and wrong. Dictionary.com describes judgement as: the ability to judge, make a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely, especially in matters affecting action; good sense; discretion: a man of sound judgment. I like the way they describe that. Objectively, authoritatively, and wisely. Three words that are extremely powerful in the Christian world. So I believe it’s ok to judge an action.
The difference lies in judging people. After reading what other Christians have to say about judging others, I realized this is somewhat of a hot topic. It’s one of those that everyone will have their own opinion and people will debate their opinion until the day they die. You can draw your own conclusions on if it’s okay to judge others but I will share with you my experience.
The second I added a label to an old classmate, I started treating them differently. I acted differently around them because I didn’t agree with the actions they were taking. I separated myself from that person and all but eliminated them from my life. We would see each other all of the time in school but I usually made a point not to acknowledge them. This person knew that I was a Christian. As time went on, my relationship with that classmate fizzled and we don’t even talk anymore. Now imagine if I had gone a different route. What if I had removed that label that I placed on them and took the time to get to know them as a person instead of just the labeled classmate. My relationship with that person would have been much different and they would not have a negative view of Christianity because of me.
This is just a very simple example of how judging someone can affect your views of them. I firmly believe that when God tells us not to judge, that he means it.
So for the remainder of the day, I want you to ponder these two questions:
1) Did Jesus judge others?
2) Was it ok for him to judge others?