The Bible on multiple occasions presents invitations not to judge others.
In this blog, I have already written a post about what the Bible says about judging others.
Looking at the pages of the Bible, it’s clear that something isn’t right when we judge.
But what is the reason?
Today, I would like to provide a perspective on why not to judge others, based on what the Bible teaches.
To do so, I invite you to read with me this short bible text:
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister?
Or why do you treat them with contempt?
For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Romans 14: 10 – 12
These short verses bear witness to an important truth.
The truth that God is the only judge, capable of judging each person’s case fairly.
When we decide to judge other people, we are naively thinking that we are capable of doing something that only God can do.
Judging someone by their present actions requires knowing many things that we are unable to see.
An example of this is the upbringing of a person.
Many of the character flaws we have, are the result of what we experienced in our childhood.
That woman you judge to be promiscuous may have been abused as a child.
Maybe she had a bad father who mistreated her and who never made her feel loved.
Things like this cause her to seek her father’s affection in men.
A young person who you dislike because of the way he dresses, or his way of speaking, can have a deep wound in his heart caused by the divorce of his parents.
That makes him want to have the attention he was denied at home due to his parent’s problems.
Perhaps he unconsciously wants to hurt them.
The person you think to be materialistic may simply be looking for financial security that he never had while growing up.
That person you judge to be proud or arrogant, may have lived in an environment where they always made him feel that he was special and better than others.
Several examples could be given.
Even us, in our lives, with our flaws, because we have them; we are not free from other people looking at us superficially, and not understanding the background of our struggles.
The good news is that God does.
What we are in our adulthood in many cases is the result of what they did with us as children, but God knows every story.
With deep attention and interest, he is trying to direct every life toward Him.
Not to judge or destroy those lives, but to help them heal from the pain that sin has caused them.
We are incapable of knowing each other’s past, history, mind, and heart.
This is why it is not our duty, responsibility, right, or prerogative to judge, or criticize anyone.
God, on the other hand, is a loving and merciful Father who judges with truth and justice the case of each one.
He knows that each person’s struggles and weaknesses are caused by things that surpass the person.
That is why he is able to look with patience, with tenderness, with understanding, with compassion, when we look with contempt.
He is able to look with love at the one we look upon with indifference.
Because He knows everyone perfectly, He is able to love and accept everyone perfectly.
But He does not leave us with our wounds and sins, He heals us and cleanses us from them.
Even we, if we judge, need to be healed by God from that flaw.
Let us leave the role of judge to God.
We dedicate ourselves to serving, to loving, to healing, to helping.
I hope these words are a blessing to your life.
Do you have a hard time not judging others? What is the circumstance you are going through? Let us know in the comments.
Blessings and a hug.
