Judge not .. because you do the very same thing

There is no doubt in my mind, that many who name the Name of Christ have been, and still are, judgemental. And as we shall see the Scripture soundly condemns that. But there is another side that I want to mention before I get into the theme of the title of this post. It is that that our culture has largely confused disagreement with judgment. So is a teacher being judgemental when she marks a mathematical addition wrong when it is? Well I suppose she could be, but how will we learn if we are not told the difference between right and wrong? I find it helpful to distinguish between a judgemental attitude and a discerning attitude. In particular, I can discern that something is wrong without condemning the person. There is of course such a thing as a judgemental attitude, one that condemns and/or looks down on another. So let's be clear, it is the judgemental attitude that the Scriptures condemns. If we were not to judge, as in discern that something is wrong, the command to go to our brother when he has sinned against us, would make no sense (Matthew 18:15).

The Scripture we are looking at this morning is “you who judge another condemn yourself; for you who judge do the same things” (Romans 2:1). The truth of this was illustrated to me one time, by a recent convert who suffered from verbal diarrhea, talking essentially without stopping. She was telling me that she could not stand another Christian. When I asked what she did not like about him, she told me “He talks too much, you can’t get a word in edgeways!” It can be subtle, it’s not that long ago that the Lord convicted me of judging judgemental people. You know those blankety blank judgemental people. Until the Lord revealed it to me, I did not see that I  was doing the very same thing. And neither did the young lady I was talking about above! It seems to be very common! In light of this, for me, one of the most scary verses in Scripture is “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2).

I remember one time being pulled over for speeding. After taking my information, the officer told me “You were speeding sir.” ‘Yes’ I replied. He looked at me “What?” he asked. ‘Yes’ I told him, ‘I was speeding.’ His surprise at someone who would actually admit he was wrong lead him let me off saying “Go on, get out of here.” So I did not get a ticket, and I told my friend “That's what I want when I die!” ‘What?’ he asked me. “Mercy, not judgement.” How about you? Jesus told us “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7), but “judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 3:13).

Father, Your Word tells us that You “are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15). Lord I want to be more like You, but I need Your help. Thank You Lord that You are far more willing to help us in these ways, than we are to ask, and for this and many other things, I give You thanks and praise again this morning in Jesus Name Amen