Judgmental

We have a knee jerk reaction these days to the word, "judgmental." We do not want to be judgmental. After all, didn't Jesus say, "Judge not"? So ... we should "judge not."

There is a problem here, however. If you actually read the text where Jesus said, "Judge not," you find out He said much more.

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce 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." (Matt 7:1-5)

So, He's not actually saying, "Never evaluate another person's life (sin, etc.)." We know this because He goes on to say that you should remove the log from your own eye so "you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." That is, if you're removing a speck, it's judging, isn't it? Thus, Jesus's command about "Judge not" was not "Never examine another person's life" because He said we should. (See also, for instance, Matt 7:15-16).

So what does He mean? Luke's version gives it a different "color." He starts with "judge not" but reiterates it with "condemn not" (Luke 6:37). Okay, that's a different idea. One is simply to analyze and evaluate and the other is to pass judgment complete with sentencing. One is to be a judge and the other is to be a judge and jury, so to speak. One is to discern and the other is to correct ... forcibly if necessary.

So what does the Bible say? It says, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt 22:39). It says that this is in the sense of "nourishing and cherishing" (Eph 5:29). It says, "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life" (1 John 5:16). It says, "If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness" (Gal 6:1). See, those last two are tough to do if "Judge not" means "Never notice someone else's sin." They're the opposite, in fact.

So, we aren't supposed to be condemning, but we are supposed to recognize sin and address it. In what sense? In the context of loving your neighbor. For what purpose? For believers, it's to restore them. For unbelievers, it's to turn them to Christ. In both cases, it's in the context of loving your neighbor. You see, it is possible to recognize sin in others and be disdainful or self-righteous in it, and that would be wrong. It is also possible to recognize sin in others and care enough to help them through it. That's love. And we are commanded to love. Unfortunately, we tend to do the other version too often. Sounds like we need our own corrective action. You know, "log in your eye," that sort of thing.