Rev. Rogers: Judge not, a Christian principle that holds today

Judgment is an unavoidable part of the human condition. For all its good and all its evil, judgment is a reality with which all people must contend. Yet, for Christians who choose to be faithful to Jesus Christ and hold true to Biblical integrity, judgment is a dangerous weapon of diabolic destruction that must be carefully understood and prayerfully wielded. In the modern world of social media and hateful politics, demonic judgment is destroying the witness of Christ!

Jesus was very clear when it comes to judgment. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus famously said “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” He goes on to tell a prophetic parable about the audacity of condemning the speck in the neighbor’s eye without taking serious consideration of the log in one’s own eye. The basic interpretation of the parable is to prayerfully look to address one’s own faults before unleashing judgment and condemnation about another's.

The Apostle James also weighs in when he reminds Christians that Christians should be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. The teaching of James 1:19-21 recognizes that judgmental and hostile emotions do nothing to serve the will of God. In the Fourth Chapter, James elaborates on how conflict and anger are rooted in sinful arrogance and presumptive narcissism within the heart of the one doing the judging. Again, James warns that such conviction, even when well-intended and presumably Biblically justified, is a violation of God and God’s love.

Perhaps one of the most illustrative and descriptive illustrations of the negative consequences of judgment—especially judgment rooted in emotional reaction—comes from the fifth chapter of Galatians when Paul was instructing the church to live in the blessing of the Holy Spirit as opposed to the curse of embracing the sinful ways of the world. In this teaching, Paul identifies several so-called “works of the flesh” which summarize humanity’s worst characteristics, behaviors, and most destructive attitudes. Such things, Paul warns, are not of God and absolutely unacceptable from Christians.

Within the Hebrew Scriptures one need only look at the First Psalm. In this beautiful expression of faithful living, the Psalmist writes that embracing the ways of the wicked, sinners, and scoffers does not embrace the way of God.

Whether one looks to the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Epistles and the wisdom of Paul and James, or the blessings of the First Psalm, the message remains focused. When Christians allow our emotionally charged reactions, our fear-driven responses, our doctrinally defined actions, or presumably biblically based condemnations override our capacity to fully understand, discern, and comprehend the complexities of another’s behaviors, we violate the Word of God.

This does not mean one should never make prayerful, careful, and well-discerned judgments. Sometimes such conclusions are necessary for preserving life, integrity, fidelity, and safety. Such decisions, however, must be made with very deliberate and focused spiritual discernment. Judging another without intentional efforts to truly understand the motives, prayerfully reach out for the greater good of the one guilty of the presumed offence deserving of judgment, and divine compassion regarding the ability to restore the one in the name of Christ is essential to Christian fidelity and faith.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Rev. Rogers: Judge not, a Christian principle that holds today