JUDGE NOT

JUDGE NOT
“Judge not, that ye be not judged…. “- Matt. 7:1
While this verse is often misunderstood and misused, it is also one of the most ignored verses in the Bible. Most people pay no heed to the warning, and that creates confusion and conflict. We could eliminate a lot of tension and strife if we understood the danger of misunderstanding others. Many times we assume we know what a person should or shouldn’t do when we don’t. Or, to look at it another way, we assume that we know what a person can or can’t do. We often assume they could if they would, but they can’t or shouldn’t–and we don’t understand why.
If a person had both legs amputated we could understand why he can’t walk, and we wouldn’t expect him to so. We certainly wouldn’t rebuke him for not doing so. But suppose a person, who appears perfectly healthy, has a brain tumor that affects his motor skills and prevents him from walking. It would be easy for others , based on appearance, to misjudge him. Some might accuse him of being lazy or unconcerned when that’s not the case at all. And, by the way, he doesn’t owe it to you to divulge the nature of his problem.
There could be 1001 examples of what I’m talking about, but the point is — things are not always as they appear to be and our assumptions are sometimes wrong. If you are going to make an assumption why don’t you assume the best– that there is a good reason for what appears to be a fault or failure with the person. Why do we refuse to give people the benefit of the doubt rather than thinking the worst about them? Isn’t that what we would want them to do to us? What makes you think you are wise enough to judge them fairly? How do you know you have all the facts?
Have you ever thought about how others are affected by your unfair judgment and what great harm it might cause? I’ve seen relationships destroyed, families ripped apart, and churches split all because people persisted in judging others unfairly. As Christians we ought to be better than that. If we would stop imposing unfair expectations on others the world would be a lot better place to live. Think about it!– HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346