“Do not judge, or you will be judged.
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged ….”
Matthew 7:1-5.
Jesus advised people against two human frailties
when He said that they should not worry themselves and they
should not judge others. Don’t worry: don’t judge.
When He urged people not to judge others He was not advocating
the abandonment of the rule of law and law-courts. Society,
in order to maintain itself, must demand that its citizens
live within the stipulations and regulations laid down by
its administration. There has to be recognised patterns of
behaviour to ensure the security and well-being of its people.
It is a basic requirement of citizenship in a good society
that the citizen obeys the laws of the land, and lives not
for himself alone but with and for others. Life should be
regulated and disciplined.
Jesus was not descrying that thoughtful, careful discernment
which weighs up something before it accepts or rejects it.
On the contrary He always commended the studied thoughtfulness
which has in it patience and prudence. He is persuading us
to “gently scan our brother man.” J B Phillips quotes
Jesus, “Don’t criticise people and you will not
be criticised.” The thought is not original to our Lord.
The rabbis taught that “he who judges his neighbour favourably
will be judged favourably by God.” They laid it down
that there were six great works which brought credit in this
world and profit in the next – study; visiting the sick;
hospitality; devotion in prayer; education of children in
the Jewish law; and thinking the best of other people.
This direction to be kindly disposed to others was a constant
requirement of Jesus. There are so many examples of misjudgement
of people by people that they are warnings to us not to do
likewise. There are good reasons why we should not stand in
judgement on other people. First we may not know the facts
about them and what has happened to them. Rabbi Hillel advised
his students: “Do not judge a man until you have come
into his circumstances and situations.” To know all could
be to forgive all.
In men whom men condemn as ill, I find
so much of goodness still; In men whom men pronounce divine,
I find so much of sin and blot, I do not dare to draw a line,
Between the two, where God has not.
It is just about impossible for anyone to be
strictly neutral in his judgements. That is why the state
tries so hard to impersonalise justice, to treat everyone
equally. We are being swayed constantly by our instinctive
attitudes to people. “I don’t like him but don’t
ask me why.” Goethe was honest when he said, “I
can promise to be sincere but I cannot promise to be impartial.”
Many of our conclusions on others are not reasoned judgements
at all but the result of unreasonable deductions and reactions.
It is not in human nature to be completely impartial. Paul
says: “Why, then, criticise your brother’s actions,
why try to make him look small? We shall all be judged one
day, not be each other’s standards or even our own, but
by the standards of Christ. It is to God alone we have to
answer for our actions.” (Romans 14:10).
We read in Matthew 7:1-5 of how Jesus pictured a man with
a beam in his eye trying to take the mote out of his neighbour’s
eye. It raised a laugh but it drove the message home that
if we take a hard look at ourselves we will be more gentle
with other people. The real importance of today’s study
is that we need not expect mercy from God if we are not merciful
to others. Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Canon Dr. S.E. Long
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