Stop judging me!
Have you ever pointed out someone doing or saying something wrong and been met with the Christian TRUMP card? No, that’s not referring to our former president. I’m talking about the “You can’t judge me” card. It gets thrown around more often than “God told me you’re the one” at a Christian youth camp and passed around as freely as that bread at Texas Roadhouse.
We’ve all heard someone say Christians shouldn’t judge. No matter their personal faith, people love telling Christians how unchristlike they are when they judge others. But there’s a massive contradiction in that statement – the person who tells you not to judge literally just judged you. Like a judge with a gavel in hand, they condemn you for doing to others what they are doing to you. It just doesn’t make sense.
“Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1) comes in a close second to “for God so loved the world” (John 3:16) as the most quoted verses in our culture. The problem is, though, when you just read one verse in isolation from the rest of the passage, you easily miss the point being made.
For example, just a few verses later in Matthew 7, where Jesus says: “Judge not,” He also says: “Do not give dogs what is holy and don’t cast your pearls before pigs.” (Matthew 7:6). You can’t identify “dogs” and “pigs” without judging. And we can’t identify false prophets (Matthew 7:15-16) without judging the fruit of their lives and words either.
To make my point even further, Jesus tells us to judge with “righteous judgment” in John 7:24 and 1 Corinthians 2:15 says, “The spiritual person judges all things…”
So, obviously, WE ARE supposed to judge. It’s actually Christlike to judge. But there are right ways and wrong ways to judge. Let’s unpack those below.
#1 Hypocritical judgment is wrong
The Bible should always be used first as a mirror to point out our own shortcomings, not binoculars to highlight the faults and sins of others. Jesus’ command not to judge others in Matthew 7:1 is preceded by comparisons to hypocrites (See Matthew 6:2, 5, 16). The main point of Jesus telling us not to judge is Him warning us against our hypocritical tendencies. This is why Jesus tells us to remove the log in our eyes first. When we remove hypocrisy from our own lives, we can help someone else with the sins they’re struggling with.
#2 Judging appearances is wrong
When I look at you and make assumptions about you, I’ve judged you by your appearance. When I look at how you’re dressed, what you drive, where you live, or the color of your skin and then lump you into a category with everyone else who is “just like you,” I’ve wrongly judged you. Judging by appearances is sinful because it removes your God-given uniqueness, and I determine you’re just like someone else. In 1 Samuel 16:7, it says that God doesn’t see as we do; God looks at the heart, but too often, we judge by outward appearances. If you want to have the heart of God, you have to see people as unique. You have to see each person as someone made in the image and likeness of God.
#3 Prideful judgment is wrong
Christians are often accused of “judging” or being intolerant when they speak out against sin. But opposing sin is not wrong. Holding the standard of righteousness naturally defines unrighteousness. Declaring something to be wrong shows what is right. How can someone know the truth unless lies and errors are called out and corrected? As believers, we’re in dangerous waters when we say things like, “I know that scripture says that, but I think…” You are filled with a serious amount of pride when you attempt to disagree with God. God doesn’t need you or me to be His PR firm to make His word and His standards more palatable to a culture that hates Him. God doesn’t need an editor, but He will take some messengers! Some people who will boldly speak the truth with compassion in their hearts and grace across their lips.
#4 Judging your heart or motives is wrong
Have you ever heard someone say, “I know they did that, but they have a good heart”? It’s actually wrong for you to judge someone’s heart because it’s actually impossible to know someone’s heart. We can see people’s actions, but we can’t see their hearts and motives. You can see what someone did, but you can’t know why they did it. This is what Matthew 7:15-20 is referring to when it tells us that good trees produce good fruit. The same is true with people. You know a thief because they steal. You know a liar because they lie. Judge their actions, not their motives.
So those are the ways I’m not supposed to judge. How am I supposed to judge then?
#1 Judge by agreeing with God
Our faith journey begins when we agree with God. This is what repentance is all about. To repent means to change the way you think and to agree with God. So how do we judge with right judgment, as John 7:24 says? By agreeing with God’s word. (See John 12:47-48) Repeating God’s word doesn’t make me a judge or judgemental; it makes me a messenger.
#2 Judge with humility
Knowing that I have a judge helps to keep me humble and my attitude kind when approaching others with their sins and shortcomings. While I don’t need to be perfect to attempt to point out a blind spot or sin issue in another, I do need to make sure I’m open to the Lord and seeking to repent of my own issues first. Pray this verse to stay humble: Psalm 139:23-24 ESV “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
#3 Judge to RESTORE, not to be RIGHT
The last thing this world needs is a bunch of self-righteous people running around pointing out the faults of everyone else. We don’t need a bunch of social media heroes correcting everyone’s theology and identifying all the “false prophets.” What we do need is humble people who are willing to speak the truth in love. We do need some people who understand their own fallen state and how much they, too, need the grace of God. We need some truly spiritual people who can restore others in a spirit of gentleness, as Galatians 6:1 says. We need people willing to bear the burdens of others and walk with those who have fallen. We don’t need a bunch of truth bombs thrown from our lofty seats of perfection. We need to be willing to get down in the dirt with people and lovingly restore them, using both grace and truth. We need people more like Jesus.