That boy that steals food and drugs? He's trying to keep his sick mother alive.
That girl that's anorexic? She's made fun of at school for her appearance.
That homeless man on the streets? He's a war veteran with PTSD, and his wife took all his money while he was away.
The vast majority of Christians (in particular) will take one look at each person in these scenarios and immediately pass judgement on them and their circumstances. "Oh he's a thief? He should be arrested. Oh she's anorexic? She made herself that way. Oh he's homeless? He should have learned to handle his money better. " My question is; why do we feel the need to judge in the first place? Every time someone judges another human being for what they're doing or what their life is like, they are doing a lot of harm. To themselves, and to that person. In the end, there is only One who can rightfully pass judgement. And He is the only perfect and righteous judge.
Do you know why passing judgement hurts other people as well as ourselves? Because it's not out of love. The more we judge others, the less we love them. Jesus was able to love others, despite what they had done. Take John 8:2-11 for example:
"Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."
The pharisees were clearly testing Jesus in this passage; they wanted to trap him in his actions, as they had tried to do so many times before. Either Jesus follows the law, or he dismisses the law, and in both cases, they could have taken charge against Jesus. But Jesus does something amazing by forgiving the sin of the woman, which is something only God could do. However the point here is not the forgiveness of sin, but rather the way Jesus said "Everyone sins, are you going to judge and condemn her for hers?" Imagine if more people could behave like this. Gandhi once said "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians." And you know why? It's because people go around judging others, pointing the Bible at them, and telling them how they should behave. That statement was said around 75 years ago, and the sad thing is that there's still a lot of reason to dislike Christians. Andy Mineo said in his song "Uncomfortable" that we have to "grip that blade of the sword." The sword he's talking about is the Sword of the Spirit, and by gripping the blade, he's saying that "what cuts you should also cut me." Gripping the blade by the handle and pointing it at others can certainly be taken as threatening. We have become callous to the scriptures, and we rain down truth on everyone we meet. But truthfully, we should also be submitting our own lives to the authority of the Word. This is where I believe we should start if we are looking to change the way that the outside world views us.
So while judgement upon another person might be a passing thought, you can still harm a lot of people with that thought, including yourself. Take the time to consider that the person you are judging is a dearly loved child of God. If you still aren't convinced, take a look at this verse:
"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." -1 Samuel 16:7
So ask yourself; is it really worth it to judge? Does it honestly benefit anyone? The answer:
Nope.
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
-Luke 6:37
