Love to hear from and know who is listening
I made a post on social media recently about how my grandparents and parents were able to afford the American Dream of owning a home, yet my children and other younger people can't seem to save enough money to buy a home. I made the mistake of accusing the younger generation of making poor financial choices and putting things like a $10 coffee at the convenience store and expensive vacations as top priorities. I received a lot of backlash. A younger member of my family said, “Judge not least you be Judged.” I didn't believe I was passing judgment, I was just making an observation based upon my own personal experience. My difficult question to you is this, was I being judgmental and exactly what does this verse in Matthew mean?
Matthew 7:1 ESV Judge not, that you be not judged.
I am sure all of us have felt judged at some point in our lives. Judgment can often leave you feeling sad and hurt, especially if it comes from someone important or close. Scientific studies have determined that judgment is an instinct of the human brain. As humans, our basic instincts are to survive and thrive. As a consequence, we automatically end up judging people around us to determine if they are safe to be with. Everyone, without exception, judges the people around them based upon their appearance. I will be the first to say when I see someone in the public who has a serious case of bed head and their hair looks like it has not seen a comb in months, they must be a lazy person. Other ways people are judgmental include: assuming someone is lazy because they are overweight, assuming someone is selfish because they have no children, thinking someone is a bad parent because their child is throwing fit in a public place, thinking someone is poor because of the way they dress. I could go on forever, but I think you understand my point. We pass judgment on people every day. My failure was that I assumed all young people, that could not afford to buy a home, were financial irresponsible. Some may be, some may not. Exactly what does, “Judge not least you be Judged” mean? Sadly, the passage is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied teachings in Scripture, by believers and non-believers alike. When Jesus said, “Judge not lest you be judged,” He wasn’t issuing a blanket rule that people are never to judge others. To truly understand this verse we need to look at the verses that follow it.
Matthew 7: 2-5 ESV For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 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.
A closer look at these verses reveals what Jesus was really trying to teach us. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. Jesus teaching was primarily directed to believers, but the principle can be applied to anyone. How can anyone deal with the speck in our friend’s eye, if we have a log in our own eye? The purpose of judging someone weakness is to help him or her be free of it. But how can we help someone else if we are not free? We must first be willing to look honestly at our own lives and exercise the same judgment toward ourselves. When we do this, we judge from a position of humility. A faithful servant of God will see himself as accurately as he sees others. He will recognize his own sinfulness and need for God’s mercy as much as he does those around him.
Romans
