Why I Don't Judge You

Although my natural self often desires to point out the flaws in others, I trust God is changing me. I do have a critical mind. I tend to think things through, sometimes over-think things. I will often come to different conclusions and will naturally believe I have found a better way.

But I choose not to Judge you.  Here are a few reasons why:

I would have to judge myself

I currently believe different things than I did say 10 or 20 years ago.  I do some things now that I didn't do before, and I did things before that I don't do today.   I don't really want to judge my former self for being wrong, and I hope my former self doesn't judge my current self - although he probably would.

I am not a very good judge

Although I think I'm pretty smart, I am smart enough to know I do not have it all figured out.  At times I think the more I learn about God, the less I know with 100% certainty. If I were to judge others, I am not sure if I would be correct 80% of the time, 50% of the time, or less.

Jesus seemed to judge those who judged others

The Pharisees and experts of religious law were the rule keepers and enforcers of that day.  They frequently judged others by the rules and standards they held to.  The harshest words Jesus spoke were against these men. There may be a lesson for us here.

The Bible says do not judge

Matt 7:1-5, Rom 14:1-8, Luke 6:37-38, 1 Cor 4:4-5

Blasphemy against Holy Spirit

The way I read Mark 3:22-30, Matt 12:25-30  and Luke 11:17, it can be risky if we mistakenly judge someone who God is working through.  Click here for more on these blasphemy verses.

Jesus will Judge

I trust Jesus will do a good enough job judging. (James 5:9, Acts 10:42, 2 Corinthians 5:10, John 5:22)

What Judging can I do?

1 Corinthians 5 gives some room for some judging of others. This was an unusual situation where a believer was doing something shameful in the eyes of both the gentile world and the community, and the community of believers seemed to be proud of it.   I'm not sure if this passage should be applied when we disagree over doctrines, and I'm not sure if it should be applied whenever someone does something wrong. There may be situations where believers are in close fellowship with someone they shouldn't be with, and this may apply. But I think we need to be careful not to take this approach of judging others whenever we disagree with someone's beliefs or practices (see reasons given above).

I believe there is also a sense where we are to judge things for ourselves.  I will naturally judge a practice to be harmful or beneficial, or a belief to be right or wrong.  I may even speak (or blog) about what I believe.  I may try to teach others with the hopes that they see things the way I see them.

Is there a fine line here? 

Is it possible to believe something, and speak what you believe without judging others?

I think the fine line is humility. Recognizing along the way that we are each given the freedom to think and live as individuals, all equal under a sovereign Lord and judge above.