Is there a right way to make judgments? No one likes to be judged; yet, it is a necessary part of life, if done the correct way. We have all been judged in a wrong way, being accused of something we did not do or rejected for no good reason. But many of us have profited by being judged in a good way. Everyone who has competed for a prize and won did so because judges deemed him or her worthy. When we are appraised for our work and receive a raise in pay, this is another example of a good kind of judgment. So what is the right way to make judgments, and what is the wrong way?
The kind of judgment that is good and proper and a necessary part of life could be called assessing, discriminating, or discerning.
The definition of discrimination that applies here is the ability to properly discern by seeing and making fine distinctions. We all should make these kinds of judgments every day, unless we naively assume every person has our best interests at heart. When we go shopping we assess products based on quality and price. When meet someone, we try to use good discernment regarding the character, values, and intentions of that person.
Some of us have a finely tuned sense of discernment and are able to quickly assess others, being able to detect things beneath the surface. It may even be a God-given ability. This does not mean that we are always right in our assessments or judgments, but often we are. Others of us may not have such a refined ability to assess others and only really get to know what is in a person until quite a while after we are in a relationship with them. Regardless, we should not be too quick to completely trust someone. Jesus was not.
But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. John 2:24–25 (NASB95)
The bad kind of judgment is condemnatory.
If we see faults in someone and immediately reject or condemn them, we may be operating in a wrong kind of judgment. There is an evil kind of discrimination that evaluates people based on skin color, gender, nationality, or other things outside the control of the one being discriminated against. As Martin Luther King, Jr. hoped, we want to be the kind of people who judge people according to their character, not for superficialities.
Only God has the right to condemn people for their behavior, which will happen at the last judgment for all those who reject the gospel. Nevertheless, this does not release us from the responsibility to properly identify sin.
We properly judge when we tell people what is sinful behavior, without being condemnatory.
When we see people aborting their unborn babies, we must properly call it out as being sinful. To be silent in the face of such gross injustice would be sinful. (Proverbs 24:11-12) The “catch” is that while we are supposed to identity and all out sin, we are not to condemn the sinner.
When we condemn people for their sins, we end up condemning ourselves in the process, because we are all sinners.
Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. Romans 2:1 (NASB95)
We hate to be judged, but may be comfortable dishing it out. We hate the hypocrisy of people who judge others for doing what they are guilty of themselves, but are we guilty of the same? What makes us prone to see faults in others without realizing we are guilty, too? Isn’t it because we are spiritually blind and full of pride?
Every time we improperly judge or condemn others, it always boomerangs.
As Jesus put it:
Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. Matthew 7:1-2 (NLT)
If we want to be able to properly judge, we must learn to operate as Jesus did. He said:
I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 5:30 (NASB)
Jesus listened to what his Father told him; therefore, he always judged people and situations correctly. He had no selfish personal agenda that clouded his judgment, but he did judge sin, people, and situations. He had to, and so must we. If we operate as he did, listening to God in every matter, we can judge properly, too. Not judging people and situations correctly is naive and can destroy us.
Everyone has to properly evaluate people and things every day. The key is to do it in a way that is constructive, without condemning anyone, even though we may have to reject their behavior as sinful.
Jesus gave us a great example in John Chapter 8, when he showed mercy to an adulterous woman, while commanding her to “sin no more.” Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13), without minimizing the seriousness of sin.
Unfortunately, some of us so identify with our sin that we find it impossible to accept someone’s pointing it out to us without feeling condemned by them. This is extremely unfortunate and sabotages our ability to acknowledge our sin, repent, and find mercy, forgiveness, and freedom.
Anytime we express a judgment against a sinful behavior, we must be extremely careful to acknowledge that we are just as much a sinner as anyone else.
We should seek to come across as sinners who need mercy who want other sinners to receive the same mercy.
Otherwise, we may repel the very people we hope to reach because of the stench of our hypocrisy.
“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:4–5 (NASB95)
Church leaders have a special responsibility to evaluate people’s actions and words and render proper judgments. They do this to protect individuals and the church from harm. If they fail to do this, they will answer to our Lord, the Chief Shepherd. In the church setting, every member has a responsibility to confront egregious unrepentant sin, without becoming self-righteous or condemning. It is part of what it means to be a disciple.
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Galatians 6:1-3 (NLT)
To conclude, we are to refrain from condemnatory judgments against one another, especially regarding motives; while, at the same time, we all, and especially church leaders, are commanded to make discriminating functional judgments of those whose unrepentant sinful ways threaten to harm God’s people or lead them astray. In every case, however, the long-term good of the person or persons being so judged must always remain in view. Our hope is always that such judgments will provoke the offender to repent and be reinstated fully to the church and live according to God’s truth. (To read more on the purpose of church discipline, click there.)
We are not called to judge those outside the church (1 Corinthians 5:12), but we must judge their sinful behavior in order to call them to repentance. If they choose to identify with their sin and become offended at us, we cannot help that.
Love should infuse every proper judgment and motivate us to refuse to judge incorrectly.
If we fail to properly judge, people will get hurt. If we judge in a condemning way, people also will get hurt, and it will come back to bite us, because none of us are without fault. The important thing is for each of us to operate in wisdom, courage, faith, and love as led by the Holy Spirit in conformity to the teachings of the Bible. Beyond that, we must trust the Lord for the results. May He have mercy on us all!
For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:13 (ESV)
