Spirituality

We humans have been guilty of the most notorious judgments against one another. Some of us seem to think it is perfectly okay to impose our standard upon the lives of others. We assume we have the competence and the right to judge another. And yet, we all know there is something grossly wrong with this picture because none of us want to be wrongly judged.

Judging others really calls us into account because Jesus made it clear:

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Matthew 7:1-5.

Judging other by default reveals a flaw in our own character. It reveals our insecurities and weaknesses. When we judge others, we are making assumptions based on our unclear perception of what others should be like or how others should behave. We tend to evaluate, and denounce the character flaws and weaknesses we find in other people. The sad result is that we put an invisible wedge between ourselves and the judged which blocks our ability to accept and love each other in a full and healthy and Christian way. So, in lieu of embracing and encouraging and uplifting, we tend to point righteous fingers of accusation and discourage and pull down.

A second inherent problem with our judging others is that we do it from an unfair advantage point. We judge others on the basis of our own strengths. The areas of our lives that exemplify our talents, abilities, and habits are so important to us, we erroneous believe that others who do not share these qualities and priorities are deficient. And, any way you look at it, this kind of judging makes us feel superior. Any time we call attention to what we perceive as another’s failings, we are consciously (or unconsciously) making ourselves look and feel good at the other’s expense. Our willingness to engage in judgmental foolishness is the product of our own ugly pride. Alexander Pope expressed the problem well when he wrote:

Of all the causes which conspire to blind
Man's erring judgment, and misguide the mind;
What the weak head with strongest bias rules,—
Is pride, the never-failing vice of fools.

And according to the Jewish Mishna, Rabbi Hillel said, "Don’t judge another until you reach his place." I think we too often judge unfairly and ignorantly. I believe that if we realized what some people have to go through, we would applaud them rather than find fault.

Our legal system, however flawed it may be, still insist upon facts. Our jury’s are strictly instructed to consider only the facts brought before them when considering the guilt or innocence of the accused. But, we tend to make judgments without facts.

If there is anything I have learned in life, it is that people are not always as they seem. In one situation the person may be weak and shallow and petty, but in another that same person may be a tower of strength and beauty. People may seem to be something other than what they really are because we do not know the whole person.

A third problem with our judging others lay in the fact that for most of us, loving ourselves does not stop us from recognizing our imperfections. Even though we know we are sometimes obnoxious, short-tempered, and boastful or whatever else the weakness may be, we still manage to make allowances for our own humanity that we are not willing to make for others.

Why this inconsistency? Ian Percy provided the answer when he said, "We judge others by their behavior. We judge ourselves by our intentions." This is true. We see ourselves primarily in light of our intentions and motivations which are invisible to others. People cannot see the “why” of our behavior; they only see the behavior and externals. They cannot see our rationale. Since we have the facts on ourselves, we tend to be less harsh in our judgment. And, of course the reverse is true. We make judgments based on what is visible to us. We seldom try to understand other people’s attitudes and behaviors from their perspective or frame of reference. Rather, we judge them according to ours.

But Jesus commands us not to judge folks. What exactly did He mean? Did He mean that we are to never judge another under any circumstance or are there times when judgments are not only appropriate, but our Christian responsibility?

(Continued in Part 2)

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