In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul calls himself the chief of sinners. I can relate to that. It’s humbling to have your flaws pointed out to you, not only because it helps you grow but also because you remember how unworthy you are to judge others. Yet, ironically, I am the worst when it comes to judging people. Even though I hate it when others judge me.
I judge a lot of things. Grammatical errors, even though I’m just as susceptible to typos. Driving ability, even though I make stupid mistakes sometimes. And, perhaps worst of all, spiritual maturity, even though I have a long way to go.
With social media, judgement has become even more prevalent. And easier. We see videos and jump to conclusions. We express distaste of strangers we encountered at the grocery store.
But just because something’s prevalent doesn’t mean God’s happy with it. In fact, I think it’s fair to say He doesn’t want us judging people at all.
Judge not, that ye be not judged. – Matthew 7:1
Yet judging people is easy, isn’t it? It makes us feel superior. Quiets that nagging voice that tells us we’re not where we need to be. Helps us ignore our own flaws.
(For more on judging others, read my post 3 Ways to Cast Stones.)
And that raises the question, how do we stop judging? How do we turn it off?
I think the obvious answers are prayer and studying God’s Word. But perhaps a key component is a large dose of humility, both of which we can achieve through prayer and reading the Bible.
Because when we read the Bible, we’re reminded of how much we fall short of perfection. Of how Christ died for us because of that. Of how He extended grace when we deserved none.
And if God can extend grace, we can, too. And we should. By leaving judgment to Christ and focusing on showing love, we can encourage one another instead of putting each other down.
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
– Romans 14:10-13
But this is what can make judgment a vicious cycle. We work hard to extend grace and often end up judging others who don’t do the same.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m guilty of that.
And the trouble is judging others has become what Christians are known for. Not only do we hurt each other, but we hurt unbelievers as well.
(For more on how judgment affects unbelievers, check out my post Lessons from Zacchaeus (Part 2): How to Be the Crowd.)
I can’t tell you how often I’ve jumped down someone’s throat just to realize later I’m as guilty as they are. And I didn’t just hurt them by doing that. I hurt me, too. Not only because I hurt my testimony but also because I deluded myself into thinking I was better than them.
And that doesn’t do me any favors.
Because judgment can be a slippery slope. We start by judging ourselves. Then we judge others to feel better about ourselves. And before we know it, we’re judging God. Trying to tell Him how He should be handling things when we can barely handle ourselves.
I think this is where Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 1:15 comes in:
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
We can learn a lot from Paul. When we humble ourselves before God, when we realize what He’s done for us, it colors our view of the world. When we realize that if we stood before God right now, He could list a thousand wrongs, we become more understanding of others. And when we think of how much God loves us, how much He’s brought us through, we realize He loves others, too. And those people have gone through things we don’t know, but He does.
Just as He knows every step we’ve made. Every struggle we’ve faced. Every sin we struggle to banish.
And that realization can humble us enough to try. Because we’re going to get this wrong. We’re going to backtrack, have to correct our course and set forward again. And maybe the more we do that, the more humble we’ll become. Then maybe the next time it’ll be a little bit easier to withhold judgment and to offer grace to those around us.
We may not see a radical change in the world, but we’ll notice one in ourselves. And truly, the only person we can change is ourselves.
So let’s focus on that.
What do you think? Do you struggle with judging? What do you think we can do to stop judging others?
