Matthew 7:1-5 New International Version (NIV)
Judging Others
7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Introduction
These verses can be used to justify many a stupid decisions or action. There, I’ve said it, so “don’t judge me”, “you have no right to judge me”
So the first thing we need to nail down is this. The most common translation of Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge” is neither accurate nor very helpful at all. As we all must surely know, we make judgments everyday despite the disclaimers we use or hear, “it’s not for me to judge” or “to each to their own.” In pretty much every part of our lives, whether it is in work, at home, in relationships, we make judgments. I’m not going to suggest some of them for you because quite frankly that would let you off the hook. I don’t want you to say “Actually, what I just did then, well that was OK because the minister didn’t mention it specifically on Sunday” So I’ve made the judgement not to be specific. Equally though we are all capable of ignoring something that the minister might say, if, in fact, we don’t agree, or are minded to continue with our judgment regardless. Whatever it is or whatever position you may take, it is your judgement, you’re an adult are you not? And that is a judgement 😉
Although one saying I feel we must avoid is this “don’t judge me until you’ve walked in my shoes” I especially hate that one because invariably they’re not the same shoe size as me, which means walking in their shoes will hurt even more than it does them and quite frankly I wouldn’t be seen dead in those ugly things anyway. But seriously, we would be in deep trouble and frequent danger if we did not make discernments about people, situations, and actions when it came to how we judge others.
A misunderstanding here though is that, these verses are directed towards everyone and there must be some action on the part of the world in general to live a “christian life” is a fallacy and will create a judgement in us from the perspective of “everyone should know how to behave” And then we begin to imagine that we, as individuals and collectively are to be some kind of christian moral version of Thought Police (Thinkpol) from George Orwell’s book 1984. The apostle Paul speaks to the Corinthian Christians in his first letter to a church that was, to say the least, a bit lost and he disputes this way of thinking.
1 Corinthians 5: 12-13
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.
This not only cautions us about judging those outside of the church, What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? but also we begin to see that we are in some way to be judged, Are you not to judge those inside? WHY? Because we KNOW the truth. The truth has been revealed to us and when I hear this I also hear the phrase spoken to me after some misdemeanour or other as a kid “you should know better”
Are we in danger of judging incorrectly?
What does that look like in our lives and how we interact with non christians?
Is God asking us to change our focus when it comes to judging others?
We know the truth
I want to take you back to the very beginning, a very fine place to start… Sorry had a Julie Andrews moment there… When we remember our coming to faith and hopefully at times since, where our words, faith, actions, opinions and relationships seemed to be changed for the better. That moment when the word seemed a different and exciting place. The holy spirit had revealed something about ourselves, God and the universe and changed our perspectives. Our speech was different, I know I stopped using certain words of the four letter variety immediately. Our relationships were closer and more open. We began to see “the way things” really were where God actually ruled in our lives and His kingdom values reigned. No, not felt that? A time when God’s rule over us was so very prominent and impacted on every part of our lives?
Well the sermon on the mount is a sermon preached to the church about God’s reign and kingdom on earth. It is about values and a way of life that is different and opposed to the rule of the world and the reign of the enemy. It is a reminder to us of what God’s rule looks like in us. In us Christians and the church as a whole. The sermon on the mount is not a stick with which to beat the world with. Yes the world would be a better place if we were all to live by God’s rule. I’m certainly not disagreeing with that, but that is not the point. The sermon on the mount is about us living by those rules and, referring to last week’s address, us being salt and light in “showing forth” what this holy kingdom life is like. The glories of God’s reign in us.
Knowing the truth matters because that changes the way we live and our interactions with others. In this instance Jesus warns about judging others by our standards because quite frankly we aren’t meeting them anyway. But do not despair, that is exactly the point.
How much does the truth of God’s kingdom still affect your life?
How does God’s reign over us shape your view of others?
Are kingdom values of truth, mercy, justice and love part of your daily living?
Do not condemn
Getting back to what is the point. Earlier I mentioned the misunderstanding of the phrase translated “do not judge”. It is in fact better translated “do not condemn” – As in that most well known of verses from John chapter 3 – you know the one, that famous one, v17. John 3:17 Now you think I got it wrong? We all do the John 3:16 “God so loved the world… but it continues into V17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
I guess we would say, for us, condemnation does not apply? Rom 8 therefore there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. However, you and I both knew that HOWEVER was coming, the condemnation we are saved from is the eternal condemnation of being removed from God’s presence. We do not fear that Judgement because nothing will separate us from God but we will be judged nonetheless.
We heard from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that there is judgement of those that know the truth and don’t live by that truth. 1 Corinthians 5: 12-13
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Why is the judgement on us? Well there is the imperative to become more like Christ.
Paul continues in his second letter to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Now, none of us like to be judged, condemned or criticised. But the very fact that we are unable to live up to the standards of God’s kingdom, shows us that we are in need of change. The very essence of the kingdom of God is to know God’s rule in our life and live by that rule. And if there is no need of improvement then? Well, hallelujah Christ has come again, but where were the trumpets? Sorry that is a little facetious but really, no improvement comes without some form of judgement. Which applies to us.
The road to being more Christ like by the very fact we are still sinners must come with judgement of ourselves. Paul’s letters to any church but particularly the Corinthian church is filled with love, care, hope, prayer and the desire to see the churches to live lives “worthy of the calling they have received” Eph 4:1
Those verses in Eph 4 continue 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
In relationship, in all relationships, we are worryingly capable of entering into the mystical state of “WHATABOUTISM”. The disposition where, instead of allowing our efforts to enable God’s spirit to change us, in our sinfulness and pride we deflect onto others. Inside and outside of the church.
What is “WHATABOUTISM” then? It is a proper word/term – It is defined as an attempt to discredit an opponent’s position by charging them with hypocrisy , while not actually or directly refuting or disproving their argument. Whataboutism is particularly associated with Soviet and Russian propaganda. When criticisms were levelled at the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the Soviet response would often be “What about…” followed by an event in the Western world. Hence “WHATABOUTISM” Ring any bells? And I don’t just mean in any speeches by any particular politicians. Do LOG AND SPLINTER spring to mind 😉
Recognising our need to grow is a step towards maturity in Christ. To be worthy of the calling we have received. As a church for Paul in Ephesians we are asked to enter into relationships that allow that change to happen, being humble and gentle; patient, bearing with one another in love. Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. And so without the condemnation of WHATABOUTISM
Are we quick to condemn wrongly?
Do we accept we need the Holy Spirit to change us? If so, is some judgement needed?
Can we be guilty of “WHATABOUTISM?
WHATABOUTUSTHEN?
So instead of “WHATABOUTISM” “WHATABOUTUSTHEN” In the face of our daily experience, the phrase “Do not judge” can give us a sense that the Bible is out of touch with our everyday experience and is somewhat removed from daily living. Thinking about it the wrong way can suggest the Sermon on the mount offers an impossible ethic to follow. Much of the Sermon trains us to make judgements or discernments about how we live in relation to God’s purposes and rule when faced with the real world. But these verses warn us that our condemnation of others can be based on our own inadequacies.
The truth is, our condemnation of those outside the church does actually impact on us. It gives us a clue to the position of our heart and our living lives of faith. When we condemn those who do not know the truth, we have to be careful not to see ourselves as being beyond judgement because we are God’s children. However, the fact is, we have got it very much the wrong way round. We are judged, because we are God’s children and we do know the truth of His salvation, forgiveness and our redemption.
However the judgement we face is not one that condemns us but one that lovingly points us to a self-awareness about our secure place in God and God reassures us of His all powerful, divine ability through the Holy Spirit, to change us, bit by bit, so that we do show forth His Kingdom rule… In a church that shows what God’s reign actually looks like. One where we are humble and gentle; patient, bearing with one another in love. And where we make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
And living with a LOG in your eye may make social distancing far easier but then it really does make it very difficult to get close to anyone, does it not?