To judge or not to judge?

Jesus said “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 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? 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? 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.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces”. Matthew 7:1-6

I knew a man, many years ago, who used to greet me at the church door after a service where I had been preaching. I would find him standing there with his Bible open and, if I remember rightly, a finger carefully positioned on a particular verse. My heart would sink within me. His first words were likely to be, “With all due respect, Colin…” (he was a very polite man), and then he would proceed to put me right on some point where I had been in error in what I had said.

I must confess that after a time my attitude towards this man became – well, let’s just say, somewhat less than charitable. I saw him as a pest, to put it bluntly, distracting me from what I regarded as my pastoral duty to greet the rest of the congregation.

But looking back now, I find myself feeling guilty about my attitude. Yes, he was a pest - but of course that doesn’t necessarily mean he was wrong in his criticism, does it?

More to the point, I learned that we preachers (well, me anyway) need to be kept grounded. We are delicate little petals (I hope you realise that when you look at your pastor or minister) however confidently we may come across, and very easily bruised. We enjoy any praise or appreciation that may come our way, and, I suspect, get far more of it than we deserve. So a little lesson in humility is no bad thing: I therefore schooled myself to recognise that Mr Pest was in fact doing me a favour and that I should take him seriously and be thankful.

What am I leading up to with this story?

Well, recently I preached a sermon which included the thought that as Christians we shouldn’t judge others, but should leave judgment to God. After the service I was taken to task about this (though not by a pest, but by a very gracious and courteous man): “But I do judge sometimes! And I think we need to! There is so much evil in this world, and we should say so…” That was his drift.

And, of course, he was absolutely right.

But surely I was right too? It was a reminder that Bible truths contain many nuances – and that in any single sermon or message there are lots of aspects which can’t be fully covered.

On this particular topic, where better to go than Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:1-6? If we focus only on the first three words “Do not judge” and apply them strictly literally in all circumstances, we surely make nonsense of much else in the Bible, not to mention in life in general.

Think particularly of the Old Testament prophets. Think of Nathan’s pointing finger at King David, the adulterer (2 Samuel 12:7): “You are the man!” Think of Elijah’s scathing message to King Ahab (1 Kings 18:16-18). Think of John the Baptist condemning the Pharisees and Sadducees: “You brood of vipers!” (Matthew 3:7). Think supremely, of course, of Jesus himself: can you imagine any criticism more withering -more “judgmental” - than his list of “woes” in Matthew 23?

“Ah, but those people obviously had a special calling from God!” you might say. “It’s a bit different for us ordinary Christians”.

But is it? I don’t think so. Going back to Matthew 7, surely the comical illustration in verses 3-5 – all that about specks of sawdust and planks of wood in people’s eyes – makes it clear that Jesus intends us “ordinary Christians” to apply his teaching to ourselves and our everyday lives – though the key point, of course, is that if indeed we are inclined to go around judging others, mightn’t it be rather a good idea to start with ourselves?

What Jesus is getting at when he says “Do not judge” is, surely, “Don’t develop a basically judgmental spirit. Don’t go around looking for faults. Don’t look for reasons to condemn. Don’t routinely think the worst of other people: aim to see the best. Don’t form a negative judgment unless you have some very clear reason to do so”. (And, we might add, even then try to see with a compassionate eye.)

Suppose you have a particularly unpleasant and difficult boss: how about praying along the lines, “Lord, help me to see him/her with your eyes”? Persevere with that for a week or two and you might see your boss in a completely new way…

To sum up, Jesus is talking about judgment in the sense of condemnation, not in the sense of making wise and fair assessments.

I can’t finish without touching on that strange verse 6: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs…” It seems to be on a completely different topic from the preceding verses: about being discerning regarding who we should make the gospel known to. But however precisely we interpret it, it certainly makes it very clear that there are times when a proper, prayerful judgment is not only permissible but in fact essential.

For how do we know who those “dogs” or “pigs” are if we haven’t exercised… judgment?

Just something to think about… Which is what the second man I have mentioned did for me. And for which I thank him.

Father, please forgive me for my tendency to think the worst about others rather than the best. Please help me to exercise a wise and compassionate judgment in all situations, and to keep in mind the wonderful prayer of Jesus for his tormentors, “Father, forgive them – they don’t know what they’re doing”. Amen.