“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37 ESV)
“There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” (James 4:12 ESV)
The definition of judging is, “To form an opinion or conclusion about.” What it means to judge someone, “To form, give or have as an opinion or to decide about something or someone.”
Have you ever judged someone just by their appearance? I have. And most of the time I was wrong. A big dude, tattoos and a dew rag, riding a motorcycle turned out to be the nicest guy around. But the well dressed guy, suit and tie, turned out to be the biggest jerk around.
But we jump quickly to judge someone without getting all the facts. I am guilty on that.
But should we be judging others?
Nope! That job belongs to God.
We should love our fellow man or woman and leave the judging to God. He is better suited for it anyway.
But we judge others anyway. It’s just our nature.
The opinions expressed below are strictly my own. I believe there are things we are allowed to judge without God getting mad at us. One of those things is competitions. For example, the Olympics are judged. The competitors do their thing and competent, we hope, people judge their performance. Another is at fairs. People put their animals up to be judged. They put out their best canned foods, quilts, etc. All to be judged.
But what about when we form an opinion about someone? Possibly before we know them. That is not acceptable. God is the only one who can judge people. Oh, I don’t include courts. That’s a different type of judging. But when I get to heaven and stand before God, I don’t want to hear him say anything about me judging others. So if you are guilty of judging others, repent and ask God for forgiveness.
Kathy Keller
Writer and Prayer warrior with Answers2Prayer Ministries
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