What does the Bible say about this?
Luke 6:37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Many people take this as to not judge at all. Does this mean we should not form an opinion? Does it mean we just look the other way and not worry about what anyone else does?
I don't think so, if we don't evaluate people around us, we wouldn't know who is walking with the Lord or who is not. We wouldn't know who is in trouble or who is hurting. In the same way we wouldn't know who to even associate with and who not.
Lets read the next verse:
Luke 6:38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
It says: For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. I think this means exactly what it says. In other words the same way you judge others you will be judged.
The whole thing is built on principle:
Forgive……. You will be forgiven
Give……….. You will be given
Measure…… You will be measured
Do you see the direction this is going?
Okay, so we close our eyes and just let everyone be as they may. Right?
Lets see what the next verse says:
Luke 6:39He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
Okay we are to train people to be like their teacher (Jesus).
How do we know who to train or who is learning?
We have to form an opinion (we judge).
What is dangerous about that?
Lets read the next two verses:
Luke 6:41"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? 42How can you say to your brother, `Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
What does this mean? We overlook our faults to point out the faults of others. We need to clean up your own act, before you worry about others.
Small Example: On Sunday morning you go ride MX instead of going to church.
The people that may judge you for being there instead of in church cannot look at your heart.
So they need to be real careful before they pass judgment. They do not know where your heart is, the same way we may not know where their heart is.
Summary:
We have to look at people and form an opinion. Otherwise we wouldn't know who to minister to, help or anything else. But we have to be extremely careful to not pass judgment, because we don't know everything about the other person. Passing judgment would be the same as sentencing. Example: You may see a Christian that doesn't seem to be walking with the Lord. Okay, we can see that and form an opinion. We don't know if the person is okay with God or not. Is this person going to Hell? That is not for us to decide. That would be passing judgment.
I hope this helps you to understand what God means by judging others.
HOME
