Sometimes I think I have a hyper-active fairness gene. I become quite upset when people suffer injustice or unfair treatment. When that happens, my tendency is to judge. But I have learned to be careful with instant moves to judgment. Why? Because there is a fine line between judging someone and standing up for what is right.

Certainly our culture is filled with unfounded judgments. If you voted for Trump, you are a bad person! If you voted for Biden, you don’t care about our country! We have lists of judgments carelessly thrown about that segregate people and divides them into good or bad.

In a culture where tolerance is highly touted, we are told that true love is to accept and endorse a person’s choices and lifestyles. Does this mean there can be no conversation? Dialogue? Civility? Or, word of correction to another person? If you do speak up, you are instantly accused of bigotry, close-mindedness, or a host of other perjoratives. So do we live and let live?

The late Mother Teresa said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” In Matthew 7, Jesus is very direct about judgment when he said, “Judge not lest you be judged.” But what is really meant by this command in the Messiah’s most famous sermon?

Read on in that same passage. “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 see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Is Jesus teaching that we cannot judge anyone or anything? No. He is talking about blind and self-righteous judgment that doesn’t take into account our own faults  and sin. The root issue here is pride. When we judge, we assume a position of superiority. Jesus calls these judgers, hypocrites–people who pretend to be something they are not. Jesus sees this heart motive and addresses this put-on piety of self-righteousness. So what is Jesus saying? Don’t be a hypocrite when you judge.

During this passage, Jesus was talking about heart issues. His teachings were pointing out the problems with critical and condemning people. He opposes a heart that looks down at people and thinks they have it all together. He was addressing many of the religious leaders of the day. And he wasn’t telling us to judge those outside the church. So ask yourself:

Am I critical of others by nature?

Do I think I see things right and others see them wrong? 

Is my reasoning so much better than everyone else’s, especially those with whom I disagree? 

Am I quick to find fault and judge someone? 

Behind that judgment, am I insecure so I tear down others?

Be careful. Examine your heart. Judgment can cause you to wrongly interpret what is happening to someone. For example, a man was on a subway and his young son was running all over the train. People were getting irritated with him for not controlling his son. Finally someone spoke up and accused him of being a bad father as he appeared to ignore his son’s out of control behavior.  Stunned, he said, “My wife just died and we just left the hospital.” People on that subway were quick to judge  a man who was suffering incredible pain. They had no idea what was happening in this life. The take-away here is don’t presume to judge a person’s hidden heart.

Now, the passage in Matthew was never intended to prevent us from speaking truth into peoples’ lives. We need to correct and speak truth in the Body of Christ when we veer from the truth and engage in sin. What we need to guard against is a self-righteous attitude. When we point out what others are doing wrong and refuse to look at our own faults and weaknesses, we are being a hypocrite.

Think about the passage in Samuel when God called out His priest for judging without understanding. “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”

So, go ahead and lovingly speak the truth to a fellow believer. But make sure you check your own heart and repent from your own sin as well. Stay humble with the goal of grace, reconciliation or helping a brother or sister. We are to call out sin but not with a critical spirit. The goal of right judgment needs to be restoring a person caught in sin.

Yes, it’s about keeping your heart right before God first. If we don’t and judge others, the Word says we will be judged on that final day. God is the judge of all.

If you are someone who easily judges, then work toward more compassion and understanding. This requires getting the facts first, then extending grace. God is merciful and so should we be.