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In Matthew, Jesus told his followers not to judge others.  He said that if we do judge others, we will be judged ourselves.

“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.  For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” (Matthew 7:1-2)

In Luke, Jesus said the same thing, but also warned against condemning others.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.” (Luke 6:37)

The language Jesus used on these occasions is unusually strong.  He warns us, his followers, that if we judge others we will be judged, and if we condemn others we will be condemned.  So we need to think very carefully about whether we are judging or condemning others.

God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).  Only God can look at the heart.  We cannot know what is in another person’s heart.  So, we cannot judge or condemn another person.

Jesus tells us to be merciful (Matthew 5:7).  If we are merciful, we will not judge others or condemn them.

Jesus tells us to be meek (Matthew 5:5).  “Meek” is not a common English word today.  The Greek word used in this verse can also be translated “kind” or “gentle”.  If we are kind and gentle, we will not judge others or condemn them.

Jesus tells us to be humble.  (Too many times to list here, but I’ve listed the occasions Jesus said this in a footnote at the end of the article.)  If we are humble, we will not judge others or condemn them.

Jesus tells us to forgive others (Matthew 6:14-15).  If we forgive others, we will not judge them or condemn them.  Again, here, Jesus uses strong language, saying that if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven.  (This is scary stuff.)

Most importantly, Jesus tells us to love others.  If we love others, we will not judge them or condemn them.

There is still a question: What should I do when I see a sister or brother behaving in ways that are in conflict with Jesus’ teachings?  First, I will  need to pray.  This is most important.  While praying I need to do some careful, thoughtful, examination of my own heart and motives before I say anything.  Also, I must ask myself “Is this person’s behavior clearly in conflict with Jesus’ teachings?”.  Another question worth asking is “Who is getting hurt?”.  If nobody is being hurt or damaged by this person’s behavior, is it really in conflict with Jesus’ teaching?  But the most important thing I must do before saying anything to the person is to pray.  I suggest praying “Your will be done” from the heart.  If our loving Father doesn’t want me to talk to this person about their behavior, then I don’t want to do it.  On the other hand, if he does want me to talk to them, he will give me the wisdom and humility I need to serve them.  My motive should be that I want to serve them.

If, after prayer and reflection, I am certain that their behavior is in conflict with Jesus’ teachings, and that people are being hurt or damaged by it, Jesus gives me clear guidelines as to how I should act.  We find this teaching in Matthew 18:15-16.  Jesus says the first thing I should do is talk to the person and talk to them when the two of us are alone.  I think this is really important; I must avoid the temptation to talk to other people about the person.  However, Jesus says that, if the person won’t listen to me when I talk to them alone, then I should get one or two others  to come with me and try again.  (For more detail on this teaching, check out the article “What did Jesus say about dealing with corruption, abuse and conflict in our Churches?” Link below.)

OK.  But, once I’ve got them on their own, what do I say to the person?  How can I draw their attention to their behavior without judging or condemning them?  Answer – I must focus on the behavior, not the person.  Each of us will have a different way of approaching this.   I could draw their attention to the relevant teaching and I could let them know I think their behavior is causing problems for others and ask them what they think.  I should do this quietly, humbly and prayerfully.  Ideally, the person I am talking to should be in no doubt, in their heart, that I am not judging them and I want to help them.

I know this is difficult.  But I also know that God goes with me when he wants me to do something difficult.  If I pray, and am humble, God will give me whatever I need in order to do what he wants me to do.

We live in societies where judging others and condemning others is regarded as normal.  We see our political leaders judging and condemning others all the time.  As followers of Jesus, we must show a different way of behaving.

We trust that God will lead us into a right way of thinking about others.  That way is always love.

One last thought.  We don’t just judge and condemn others when we are talking to them.  We must be careful not to judge or condemn others when we are talking about them – including when we talk online.  If I am a follower of Jesus, I won’t judge or condemn anyone online.

 

Just one personal thing.  If you are a follower of Jesus, I’d be particularly grateful for your feedback on this article.  Please pray about it and, if you want to, leave a comment, or contact me by email peter@followtheteachingsofjesus.com.  Thanks.

May our loving Father bless us, strengthen us, and encourage us as we walk with him.

Peter O

 

Jesus’ teachings on being humble:  Matthew 11:29; Matthew 18:1-5 (see also Mark 9:33-37; Luke 9:46-48), Matthew 19:13-14 (see also Mark 10:13-15; Luke 18:15-17), Matthew 20:25-28 (see also Mark 10:42-45), Matthew 21:5; Matthew 23:11-12 (see also Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14); John 13:3-15.

 

Related articles

“What did Jesus say about dealing with corruption, abuse and conflict in our Churches?”

“What did Jesus say about being humble?”

“What did Jesus say about loving others?”

 

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