Who Gave You the Right to Judge Me?

You've always heard it said "Don't judge" or "Only God can judge a person." Well, I am here to tell you that this is wrong.

If you Google in the word "judge" and look at the verb form you get the definition:

"form an opinion or conclusion about."

When you read this definition do you think that it is wrong to judge someone? I don't. I mean, it's an opinion or it's something you have found to be true about someone. So, why do people say that it is wrong to judge another person?

Well, let's go through it. I will give my personal opinions of why I think people say this...

1. People don't want others to point out what they are doing wrong
2. People feel that if they want to do whatever they want, someone shouldn't point it out to them
3. People use the word "judge" to mean condemn

So, let's go through each thing one at a time:

1. When you do something wrong, how do you feel when someone points it out to you? Honestly, I hate it! It makes me feel like a horrible person sometimes and like I have messed up. If everyone was honest about it, most people would say the same thing. Fun fact... You HAVE messed up. Sometimes, you just need someone to point it out to you. And when it is pointed out to you, do you know what you should do? Take it. If you have done something against God's morals and law, you need to be able to deal with the consequences and being pointed out. It's what happens.

*side note: The above is when you have done something wrong, not when you are accused of something you didn't do

2. There is a time where everyone gets into their independence stages. You want to be able to do what you want, when you want, the way you want and you don't want people to get involved. You feel that it's your life, so you don't want someone else to control it. You think that it's okay for you because you are your own person and should decide if something is right or wrong. The problem with this is that everyone needs someone else with them that can speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) because we don't always actually see when we are doing something that is harmful or wrong for us or towards someone else. We need good, close friends to help point out the faults in us.

3. What does the word condemn mean? Well, let's look at the Google version of the definition:

"express complete disapproval of, typically in public; censure." 

"sentence (someone) to a particular punishment, esp. death."

Ok. So, there is definitely differences between the words "judge" and "condemn." So, this is actually what a person should mean when they say "don't judge me." And a lot of people actually do mean this. They interchange the two words with each other when they should not ever do it.

Now let's look at a verse that most people use when they say "don't judge" to make their argument even better:

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 you brother's eye. (Matthew 7:1-5)

Let's look at this verse by verse:

1. This is a warning. It's not a "You cannot judge" command. It's a "If you are going to judge, then be prepared to be judged also."

2. If you choose to judge someone, think before you do. If you are judging someone for a sin and you are in the same sin, then you will be judged the way you are judging. You will get the same "punishment" as you give another for the same sin being judged.

3. You need to pay attention to your own sins before trying to fix another person's sins. Don't just try to fix something when you don't even know how to because you haven't fixed the sin in your life. You wont be able to see what you are doing (metaphorically speaking).

4. Don't tell someone about a sin in their life until you have gotten control of your own.

5.  Don't be a hypocrite. If you tell someone not to do something and say that it is wrong, then you should not do it yourself. Now, to clear things up more, let's look at the definition of hypocrite from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

"a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs" 

So, if we can judge someone, then what can't we do that we say only God can do? Well, that, my friend, is condemn. We don't have the power or say in who goes to hell or heaven. That is what happens when someone has the right to condemn. The only One that can do the condemning is God.

In conclusion, the next time someone tells you that it aint your place to judge, just know what they actually mean by that. It's not that we, as Christians, shouldn't judge people... It's that we, as Christians, shouldn't judge someone for something AND condemn them, for that is God's job. Judge with love and wisdom without condemning for we have no right to condemn. See the difference?

God bless!!
Philippians 4:13

 

Dating Sabbatical

Not a huge video, but just to tell you about something I have decided to do for a few months.