On Judgment

From "In the Spirit of Transparency" - January 12, 2001

One of the top news of the past two weeks concerns the thorough scrutiny that the president-elect’s cabinet nominees are being subjected as part of the confirmation process. In this process, official and unofficial investigations are undertaken wherein a nominee’s life is placed under the microscope, including his or her record of past actions and statements. Often depending on the politics of the evaluating organization, a nominee is judged either to be fit or unfit for the cabinet post. Such judgment is proclaimed and played out in media. As is often the case, unjust judgments hurt not only the nominations but more importantly the lives of some nominees themselves. One such nominee, in withdrawing her nomination, decried the prevailing “politics of personal destruction”.

This sad scenario should have no place in a Christian community where love and up-building, not hostility and destruction, is the highest good. This is why the evangelist Matthew devoted a major portion of the gospel to the Lord’s teachings regarding His Kingdom and Church. “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” Mt 18:4. The greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God…and your neighbor as yourself” Mt 22:37, 38. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone” Mt 18:15. And we are to forgive our brother “not seven times but seventy-seven times” Mt 18:22. “Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave” Mt 18:26, 27.

Yet the Lord’s servants in community can expect to be judged, because man is broken and is prone “to notice the splinter in his brother’s eye but not perceive the wooden beam in his own eye” Mt 7:3. To be unjustly judged can very well be part of the cost of discipleship: “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, carry his cross and follow me” Mt 16:24. The Lord promises the kingdom of heaven to His disciples who endure persecution for His sake (Mt 5:10). God, who judges not from a man’s appearances but from his heart, “is not mocked…the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit” Gal 6:7,8.

The Lord’s servant will always fall short in the expectations of man, but he serves not to please man but God alone. “In a large household, there are vessels not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for lofty and others for humble use. If anyone cleanses himself of these things, he will be a vessel for lofty use, dedicated, beneficial to the master of the house, ready for every good work” 2 Tm 2:20-21.

We who are prone to judge should be aware of God’s Word - "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” (Mt 7:1-2. Let us examine our hearts first and rid ourselves of any ill-feeling that could cause us to judge our brother unjustly. Remember, the Lord is the only Just Judge. If we must “judge”, let it be on the behavior rather than the character and person of our brother. And rather than keep our “judgment” to ourselves or share them with third parties, we should instead go directly to our brother to express how his behavior affected us. Let us share our feelings with him truthfully and lovingly. Let our goal in correcting our brother be to win him back to the Lord.

“By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” Mt. 12:37.