Judge not, Condemn not! (Monday, 12th Week, Year II)

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JUDGE NOT! This seems to be one of the oft-quoted and possibly one of the most misunderstood scriptural sayings. Often, I even find it very hard to know which attitude is judgemental and which is corrective. The ordinary dictionary meanings of the verb "to judge" are "to label", "to form an opinion on", "to pass sentence on" and "to condemn". If we are to go by these simple dictionary definitions of the word "JUDGE", then we can as well say that each of us might have been guilty of judging people at certain times in the past.

From the above semantic background of the word JUDGE, it seems to me that the act of judging itself appears to be definite, giving no room for reconsideration, and assessing the other side of the story. When I pass sentence on something or someone, what it means is that I have accepted my opinion as true, definite and final. Now, the following possibilities can hardly be ruled out when we judge.

First, if I have often seen someone as a thief and mentally slammed my judgment gavel on him or her, it will be very difficult for me to see the other side of the him or her, or objectively reassess the other sides of the person's story. Sometimes, we fail to understand that there's so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us. It's always good to reserve our jugements and lovingly correct people if they are wrong. 

Secondly, when I form a definite opinion on someone, I invariably rule out the possibility of change. But God's grace works in us in unimaginable ways. When a seed is sown into the ground, we do not know how the factors and elements needed for germination, growth and viability actually act in or on the planted seed. So, it is with the grace of God in individual persons. To jugde and write off is like demeaning the power of God's grace. God can work in ways that we can never imagine or think about.

Finally, our judgment can also be wrong because we are human, limited in so many ways. We don't have the capacity to know the bigger picture. That's why we can't just LABEL and hold on to any mental image we have about any person. Our mind's lens may have been blurred by biases, limited knowledge and so many other things. We can't fully comprehend the life experiences that made an individual the type of person he or she has become.

By correcting people, we hold them accountable to good moral and Christian standards. And we believe that there's still room for change. But when we jugde people, we close the book on them. Jesus says, "Judge not and you will not be judged". In my relationship with people, are my words or attitude jugemental, corrective or helpful?


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