JESUS SAID: “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.” (Matthew 7:1-2)
Notice the reason Jesus warns against judgment. The danger in passing judgment on someone is that we’ll have our own standard come back to haunt us, like the spirit of judgments past.
When I condemn someone’s behavior, whether it’s blatantly sinful or just different than my own, I almost NEVER use the proper standard of judgment. I pass judgment according to my own strengths and opinions.
For example, take the issue of gluttony. Because of my DNA (I’ve inherited awkward skinniness), gluttony has never been a huge issue for me. Plus, I don’t gravitate toward things like stress eating (I cope in other sinful ways).
When I see someone who struggles with overeating, I project myself onto them. I immediately assume that they are sinning, they lack self-control, and that all they need is a bit more discipline.
This is complete sinful nonsense.
When God evaluates that person, he takes into account everything about that person – their biology, sinful tendencies, weaknesses, family history, current struggles, and a thousand other factors. God’s judgment is perfectly just, my judgment is terribly skewed. Without omniscience, all my judgments are going to be off kilter.
For all I know, the person who struggles with obesity may not actually be sinning in gluttony. They may not overeat at all, but because of their unique body makeup, can’t lose weight. Or, they may have been neglected as a child and use food as a coping mechanism. I’ve never experienced anything like this.
To be clear, I’m not saying that sin is relative. Sin is sin, no matter what the circumstances. But when God judges a person, His judgment flows out of His omniscience. That’s why it’s perfect.
When I pass judgment on a person, I’m doing so based on really, really, really limited knowledge. So often I’m blind.
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Author:
Stephen Altrogge - “I'm a husband, dad, writer. I created The Blazing Center and have written some books which people seem to like. You can follow me on Instagram and Facebook .”