For many of us, judging others comes way too easily. I know that I have been (and continue to be) guilty of this. We seem to think that it is our responsibility to punish others for their failures. Well, it’s not!
I believe we make 2 major errors when we punish others for their failures.
1. We condemn people not only for genuine sin but also for their mistakes.
When people who have tried their best fail, they do not need our biting blame. They need our love and encouragement.
We often tend to blame others because their actions (whether they reflect overt disobedience or honest mistakes) make us look like failures, and our own failure is unacceptable to us.
Husband-wife, parent-child, and employer-employee relationships are especially vulnerable to one’s being threatened by the failure of another.
How does this show itself?
A wife gets angry with her husband for his not-so-funny joke at an important dinner party.
A parent erupts at a child for accidentally spilling milk.
A manager scowls at an employee because an error on the employee’s calculations has made the manager look foolish to his supervisor.
People generally experience difficulty in dealing with their sins; let’s not compound their problems by condemning them for their mistakes.
2. Falsely believing that we are godly agents of condemnation.
Unable to tolerate injustice, we feel a great need to balance the scales of right and wrong.
We are correct in recognizing that sin is reprehensible and deserves condemnation, yet we have not been licensed by God to punish others for their sins.
Judgment is God’s responsibility, not ours!
Jesus dealt specifically with this issue when several men decided to stone a woman caught in adultery. He told them that the person without sin should throw the first stone.
Beginning with the eldest, all of the accusers walked away as they remembered their own sins. In light of their own sinfulness, they no longer saw fit to condemn the sins of another.
As this incident clearly illustrates, we should leave righteous condemnation and punishment in the hands of the One worthy of the responsibility.
Our response should be love, affirmation and possibly compassionate correction.
Have you been guilty of judging others?
***** This post was greatly influenced by Robert S. McGee’s book “The Search For Significance: Seeing Your True Worth Through God’s Eyes
Hello Kevin
Great post. In answer to your question about being guilty of judging others the answer is yes. How Jesus handle the situation that you describe, has made a difference in my life. My approach is when I feel the urge to judge someone, what I should do is to examine myself. The second thing is to respond with love (Agape) as you suggest in this excellent post.
Thanks
Perry A Davis Jr
Music City
Great thoughts Perry!
Thanks for sharing!
I have definitely been guilty, and it’s never helpful. I appreciate how you distinguish and define ‘judging’ appropriately–it’s an attempt to punish others for their failings or sins. Some would say that speaking the truth even if it’s in love is judging, but that’s not the case. We are told in scripture to admonish and encourage one another, to exhort which literally means to ‘press or pressure.’ That’s not judgment, that’s love! It’s all about the attitude of our hearts and how we let the compassion of God transform us. Thanks Kevin.
It is definitely important to distinguish between judging and admonishing.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jason!
Awesome. Need to have this on my fridge, desk, dashboard, blackberry, etc..
We all need to be reminded of this regularly Michael
Thanks for sharing!
Don’t we all need to be reminded of this? Sheesh…. I know I do. Thanks, Kevin.
Yes we do!
Thanks for sharing Tammy!
Kevin,
I agree, we should not think of an accomplishment, as failure. It is just an opportunity for us to rethink, and get it done. The only time one fails is giving up on getting the end result accomplished.
Jesus died for our sins. That we know and must have faith in believing. That spirit of guilt is just that, an emotion. The emotion can be changed, through meditation, prayer and thoughts of goodness. Expressing unyielding love for others. Living in a state of gratitude.
Our focus should be on daily edification, of all people in our lives. Empowering them to manifest kind acts and thoughts. Looking beyond what we believe someone else should be. Then allowing God to create the final mold of that person, in his likeness.
Ours is to love no matter what. Guide by living and doing good deeds. Supporting others with a real servant’s heart. With the most powerful emotion of unconditional love.
Your a true visionary and ethical leader in our industry. One who lives as he expect others to, honorably. That shows true character and it is displayed by the awesome words of hope.
I thank you for sharing and caring for all of your readers and I. May we be worthy of the blessing that will come to each of us.
I look forward to your next post. Which I am sure will bring me encouragement.
William:
Very profound words you shared here! Thanks for taking the time to share your heart!
Kevin
It’s interesting that you come from this perspective because I wrote about justice/judgement today as well.
I actually come from the angle that we tend to mix our emotions in with our judgement and that’s when it becomes vengeance as opposed to unbias and holy justice.
My position is that with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can (and will) make judgements. However, judgement is not the same as punishment/condemnation. I don’t believe that is our place at all.
I’d be interesting to hear your take on 1 Corinthians 6:1-8.
I totally agree with you Tony. It is not our job to punish and to condemn. We do have a responsibility to exhort and admonish though.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this post. Agree wholeheartedly.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing Neal!