According to the timeless wisdom of the West Coast prophet known as Tupac, we should already know "Only God can judge me". Actually, we shant be giving Tupac credit for nothing but releasing albums after his death. That thought didn't originate with him. Nor is he the only one whose theology is mixed up when it comes to this idea of "judging one another".
Matthew 7:1 says, "Judge not, that you be not judged."
For years, those in and out of the church have used this scripture to compliment a belief that we can't call each other out when we're doing something wrong. What's funny is that when someone appeals to this scripture and says, "Don't judge", they are actually judging you for judging them or someone else. So, in a sense, this verse puts you in a spiritual catch-22.
Or does it?
Could it be that most of us actually misinterpret this verse?
Its virtually impossible to go through life without making some moral judgments. Now, whether or not those moral judgments are justified or done in a proper spirit carries major weight on if they are truly warranted. Jesus Himself makes moral judgments just a few verses later in Matthew 7:6 when He says, "Don't give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs".
This is interesting. This loving Jesus we strive to follow is making judgments and to add more thought to this, He is telling believers to not waste their time presenting God's grace to those who consistently laugh it off or don't believe. Does this go against all that we're taught?
I would actually implore that Jesus' actions and words in Matthew 7 are completely loving, sensible, and smart. First of all, Jesus wants His followers to be good stewards of their time and energy. As He did, its smart and sensible to make the greatest investments in teaching God to those who genuinely want to learn and give back. It doesn't mean that we don't show God's mercy to unbelievers, because we will always do this. However, it does mean that we "make disciples" out of those who truly want to be disciples.
As far as the judgments go, Jesus will make judgments because He knows in some circumstances its the most loving thing He can do for someone.
Well, Jesus is God, and God is okay to judge!
True, but there's still a huge misunderstanding with Matthew 7:1. First of all, it is true. God is the only one powerful enough to truly judge someone for all eternity. We can't do that. However, it doesn't mean that we can't make judgments in a spirit of humility and concern. Obviously, we must recognize our own failures and weaknesses first. Jesus says this in v. 3-5 of Matthew 7. We have to examine ourselves!
We also have to keep in mind that we do not judge to condemn. That's God's role. We also don't judge based on outward appearances. However, we should practice proper evaluation of moral and doctrinal matterns. We should do this with a humble and helpful attitude in such a way to build the Kingdom and make disciples. Its our responsibility!
If we simply succumb to the "nobody can judge me" philosophy, we fall into a very pragmatic postmodernism which roots itself in teaching completely foreign to scripture. In short, we teach our kids the wrong stuff. And I should not forget to mention that we miss out showing some of the most needed love that an individual needs sometimes. We all need a brother/sister to tell us we're going the wrong direction when we're headed towards a cliff.
