Judgment!

Judge not lest ye be judged. Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults – unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Matthew 7:1

There is precious little to watch on television these days, and so last week, I found myself returning to the old Matlock series. It was a bit refreshing to watch as Matlock, the defense attorney, matched wits with the prosecuting attorney and the judge. Of course, almost every episode ends the same way with justice prevaiing, and the defendant being proved innocent. The jury listened to the facts, and the judge ruled.

There are appropriate and inappropriate times and ways to judge others. Christ, however, in His sermon on the Mount instructs us to pay more attention to our own faults rather than judging the faults of others.

Judging is defined as forming an opinion or critical assessment based on limited evidence which often produces negative assumptions. The laws of our land proclaim that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but in everyday life, many times people falsely judged are never allowed that privilege.

Years ago there was a story of the “Gentleman Bandit” in New Jersey, a man who robbed many banks in the area. He stood out because he was so polite. He would pass a note to the tellers which read, “Please, place all your money in this bag. Thank you.”

The wide spread publicity led to a very unlikely arrest – a Catholic priest! His church was appalled, but they stood beside him because they knew him and his character. They signed petitions, protested, and came up with his bail. Meanwhile, the eye witnesses positively identified him, and the media began to dig into his past looking for anything with which to judge him.

People across the country and even those in his own church began to speculate that perhaps he had a sociopathic personality which allowed him to rob banks during the week and preach on Sunday with no guilt. Pretty soon, everyone, including his own congregation, had judged him to be guilty. The priest steadfastly, but confidently continued to proclaim his innocence.

Then, a funny thing happened. The real “Gentleman Bandit” was caught red handed. As it turned out, he was the spitting image of the priest. It’s just that he wasn’t the priest! The priest was released, the church threw him a big party assuming that he had forgiven them all, and the news media and those who had prematurely judged him went on to the next story!

Unfortunately, this story is all too common in this world of today. Without knowing all the facts, coupled with listening to unreliable sources, we make judgments about people. We, who call ourselves Christians, spread rumors under the guise of telling the truth as we see it. We destroy people’s character, and we question their integrity without ever having proof that they are guilty.

Since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, there has been a wave of judgment. There have been judgments on the rights of free speech and exactly how far that right goes. There have been judgments on the job security of airline personnel, teachers, and many others. There have been judgments on how late night hosts may or may not have gone too far with their comments. Who really sits in a seat of judgment?

One thing that can be said with certainty about judging others is that it then becomes more difficult to do an acceptable job of judging ourselves. Someone once asked, “Why is it that my dirt is never as dirty as your dirt from my perspective, and your dirt is never as dirty as my dirt from your perspective? “

There are three things to remember when we are tempted to judge others. First, remember that we will be judged by the same standards that we use to judge others.

Next, remember that each of us is accountable to God. He will judge us honestly, fairly, and truthfully. Finally, remember how merciful God has been to us with His forgiveness, His mercy, and His judgment.

When we are tempted to judge others, I would remind all of us of a saying my Grandmother loved even if she didn’t always practice it: “If you can’t say something good, don’t say anything at all.” I would rephrase it: “If you can’t be fair in your judgment, try not to judge at all.”