Judge not and you will not be judged can be misinterpreted. There’s a difference between being judgmental and telling someone they are wrong. Meanwhile, John 7:24 also warns to judge with righteous judgment. In short, one is to judge according to godly standards. The warning isn’t about judgment itself but rather having a judgmental attitude.
I could remember one of the most painful chastisements I had was, “Who are you to judge people who should live or die?” That’s what James 4:11-12 is warning about. To be judgmental is to speak evil against one another and to take the law into one’s hands. Many times, one can feel that justice takes too slow so one decides to take revenge. It’s very often that the verse “eye or an eye” is often misrepresented. The Pharisees did so by pursuing petty vendettas. Leviticus 24:19-21 in its context is all about not punishing people beyond their injuries. It’s too often somebody returns a blackeye with a gouged eye, an injured tooth with an injured mouth, and revenge is often disproportionate. Meanwhile, justice only gives punishment according to the offense.
The big problem with being judgmental is this, “Who are you to judge?” That’s what James was warning about. To be a judgmental person is to have an excessively critical point of view. Sin must be dealt with but not by being judgmental. Proper judgment means to warn a person about their actions but not to be their final judge. To be judgmental means that a person thinks he or she knows better than the law. It’s like if I say that so and so should die then I’m judgmental. If I decided to impose excessive penalties or engage in vigilanteism–I’m already trying to become a higher court before God. True, there are authorities who do their job wrong but it’s also wrong to take the law into your hands. To be unforgiving is also to try and become that higher court–a direct affront to the Lord Jesus with whom gave all judgment (John 5:22).
It’s one thing to judge righteous judgment. Telling a person about what they did wrong is one thing. Doing it without love or the motive of the person’s welfare is another. That’s why we’re told we should only correct the people within our circle. If the person is your friend then it’s obligatory to properly correct his or her bad behavior for their sake. Sadly, some people only correct others to look good. That’s when it becomes a problem–caring only about being right than doing right. The difference is one’s rooted in pride (because being right elevates one above the other) while doing rights all about being willing to accept if one is wrong. That’s where judging one’s self begins.
This also means avoiding revenge at all costs. Not taking revenge isn’t all about putting yourself in harm’s way. Besides, turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:39) isn’t about physical injuries or letting yourself be injured. If it was just an insult–let it go. It’s normal to return a slap for a slap. However, the Bible says that we’re to avoid responding to insults and only hit in self-defense. Self-defense is only justified by hitting another person because you were in physical harm’s way. Other than that, a lot of petty vendettas happen only because someone called someone a name. Besides, taking revenge means ignoring protocol and even harming innocent people. It reminds me of how two sisters were raped and slain yet seven innocent people were falsely accused. The mother no longer cared about the truth as long as somebody got punished. It’s so sick how some innocent people get falsely accused because revenge could care less as long as that feeling is fed. Revenge may feel good but it will just create a vicious cycle because it gives both offended parties reason to enact such foolishness.
It reminded me of when somebody told me, “Just let them call you names. Just walk away.” I got mad and said, “What am I supposed to do? Let that mean person be a mean person?” I was told, “Yes, just let her be. It’s not your problem.” I wanted to get revenge but at what cost? I could’ve been doing better stuff than engaging with that mean person. I was told that my reaction is even more wrong that I decided to punch the person over an insult. I end up saying that I insulted others because I felt it. However, we’re called to follow the golden rule to treat others the way you want ot be treated. This doesn’t mean that the good I do will guarantee nothing bad happens. There are ungrateful people. But we’re commanded to do good and expect nothing in return (Luke 6:35-36) and let time walk its course on mean people.
This is where self-proclaimed liberals are also today. They tend to think that they have the power to judge the world. However, they can’t even fix their own mistakes. It’s one thing to criticize for the better. It’s another thing to criticize only to look better. This is where we must examine our motives. Do we correct others for their sake or is it only for one’s ego? If it’s the latter then ask yourself if you’re indeed a higher court than God’s court.
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