'Judging'... there's so much to say about this topic but, at the same time, there's very little to state; addressing the issue should be pretty straightforward. Is almost as if the concept of "judging others" is so easy to understand and address that it is actually hard to grasp for many. 'Judging' is a job task that only God is qualified to do, yet for some reason, many wrongly believe they have been certified to do so. See, I grew up in church, I grew up amongst religious people and 'boy oh boy' many of them really loved to gossip and pass judgement over others. From what a person wore to church, to what the person bought, to how much money the person was giving to church vs. their salary, to what a person decided to do or not to do on vacation, to how the person spoke in church, to how a person was behaving within the marriage, to even how good or bad of a cook a person was... everything was openly 'brought to the table'. It would seem as if behind a person's back, the person was stripped drown and judged head to toes without ever physically removing a piece of clothing or appearing in court. Was this or is this cool? Of course not...
I need to clarify that this issue is not a "religious people" thing, is a "people" thing. Now more evident than ever, it has become as clear as the day that we live in a society that feeds off judging others. Social media sites have boosted this phenomena and day after day people are being judged, mocked, and gossiped-about regarding any given thing or behavior. From simple things like dressing styles to more serious things like personalities and sexual preferences... everything is being judged almost 24/7. How beautiful would it be to live in a world full of love where we could all accept each other as we are and understand that we humans are simply not qualified to pass judgement over others...?
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
At Never Far Enough we aim to keep our topics focused on Jesus, on God, and although we speak to the general population, we often times discuss things based on experience within the church for the people of the church. This because we, christians, are to be the world's example. How can we ask others not to judge when we're doing it ourselves? Only God can judge, no human being in this planet should ever do so. This is something that everyone, but more importantly all christians, should keep in mind. If you that visit us happen to be a non-believer in God, still... stop judging! Judging others damage and stains our characters.
As always, let's study together this topic under the light and guidance of the Bible.
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What does the Bible says about us humans and "Judging"?
Yes, the Bible does offer guidance to us regarding the practice of judging others. Throughout my years as a christian and my during my Bible studies I have read many of those verses regarding the topic of judgement. Even more than that, I have found that a LOT of christians/religious people seem to skip the sections of the Bible where it is made clear that we are to judge no one. Without further ado, let's go ahead and read some of these verses:
This first verse below is Jesus speaking by the way...
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." - Matthew 7:1-5
SEE ALSO LUKE 6:37-42
"Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?" - James 4:11-12
"Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?" - Romans 2:1-3
Wouldn't you agree that these verses are kind off... self-explanatory? If so, why do you think there are so many people within the church that have Ph.Ds in judging others? Could it be that many can't understand the "why not?" portion of it? Let's talk about that for a minute and then let's look at the problems (huge problems) that the practice of judging others can promote.
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Why are we not qualified to judge?
The straight-up answer is... because we are all sinners and prone to sin, because none of us is perfect, because we ALL make mistakes, and because we can't see the heart and mind to understand what's really going on in another person's life. Simple enough? Probably there are many more reasons why we're not qualified to judge but I believe those make a solid point.
Now, I want to clarify something that I believe is very relevant and important for this discussion. We as a society love 'softening' up bad traits and habits. For instance, we believe there is such a thing as white lies (lies that aren't too bad so they're acceptable), in a similar way we believe in casual alcohol consumption (alcoholism still, but so 'little' that's it's not bad), in religious settings many believe that sinning by stealing sin is less "bad"and more in tune with God than sinning by cheating your wife for instance ... ... and so on. Many say and believe things like this to ease down their conscience and/or guilt but listen, lying is lying, consuming drugs is consuming drugs... and sinning is sinning. Much like these examples, many believe that when judging someone, there are actually boundaries for "safe judging" when this could not be more false. Many cheat themselves by saying things like these:
"Ahh, but I'm only doing it behind the person's back so I'm not hurting anyone."
"Ahh, I'm only doing it so he/she improves in this area. This is actually for his/her good."
...and the classic for when all else fails: "Ahh, but he/she knows I was joking."
My friend, judging is judging and judging is NOT COOL. Whether you're judging a person in an important aspect of life, in his relationship with God, or in something as silly as their clothes or perhaps a tattoo... you are still judging and we are simply not qualified to do so for the reasons aforementioned.
Everything that Jesus stated and as recorded in the Bible is for our own good, His entire ministry was based on love, harmony and giving. It is with this in mind, with Jesus' mission in mind, and the fact that God is all knowledgeable, that He must've had a GREAT reason to ask us not to judge others... and He did/does. Let us talk about (some of) the problems associated with judging others, especially within the christian/religious community.
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The biggest problem with judging others...
Years ago a church opened where I used to live called "Lighthouse". To say that it was a great church is to reduce what it was... we were TRULY a family and each person was accepted as they came in. During Saturdays it was a church, Saturday night it was a "christian pub". Live christian music, board games, sports, vegan food and vegan drinks sold... an exciting nightlife place all under a christian environment. The church got filled especially with young adults. There tattoos didn't matter, piercings didn't matter, of course there was an expected dress code out of respect to God - but each person dressed as they wanted, people were accepted as they came in, and the church GREATLY succeeded. Soon, local churches began noticing their attendance decline and after some time, the church decided to intervene.
Much of the arguments made in favor of this new church (Lighthouse) closing were things such as: "God's not there, those young men and women are lost in front of the eyes of God. With all the earrings, tattoos, "party life" at night... That's not 'godly'."... and so and so on. People assisting that church began to feel judged and pressured, eventually the church closed. Now I have to ask in retrospect... Who in the world those people thought they were to boldly state that God was not in such a place? Who gave authority to church members to judge others by what they wear, how do they come to church, and what they do with their time?
One of the problems with judging is that it drives people away. Nobody wants to feel judged, we ALL want to feel included. The church's mission is to find and gather people for God, we are to share God's love with EVERYONE regardless of their culture, behavior, practices, past, present or future. A person that gets driven away from a church because he/she felt judged, is a person that will likely advocate to others not to go to that church... by judging we are doing the opposite of what God asked of us. We decrease in size instead of increase. On the other hand, another problem of judging others is that it leaves a bad image and taste in the eyes of others. It stains or own personalities.
Nobody, NOBODY should EVER judge anyone, but even much less christians. We are the light of the world with Jesus' gospel in our hands, don't block that light with judging that at the end of the day does absolutely NOTHING for us as a person. Just makes us look "gossipy" and bad.
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How do I stop judging others?
The recipe is very very simple. I say this with the outmost respect to you friend but we all gotta learn to mind our OWN BUSINESS. Don't try and judge people and even less try to change them. Only Jesus, only God has the power to truly change and convert a person. Be the reason someone loves Jesus, be inclusive, be respectful, be attentive, be human, be vulnerable... be like Jesus. Hate the sin, that's all good and great, but LOVE THE SINNER. Jesus approached Jews and gentiles with the exact same care, love, and attention.
Hopefully this all made sense. Thank you so much for being with us here today. Love, share Jesus, treat everyone in the same way you'd like to be treated, and be the difference you want to see in the world. As always, feel free to contact us with any question, comments, concerns or suggestions, God bless you and until next one!
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