DO NOT JUDGE…



I have heard it said more than just a few times, “Don’t judge me” or “You can’t judge me” or “We are not suppose to judge others”. It is amazing how some people know key phrases out of the Bible like the first part of Matt. 7:1 where it says, “Do not judge…” Or “Wives, submit to your husbands…” found in Eph. 5:22. The only problem is that they don’t either finish the phrase or interpret it in the context of what was written. How many of us have been only partially quoted by someone else saying that we said one thing when in fact we didn’t say that based on the context of what we said? We were misrepresented. I wonder how many times God has been miss quoted by someone who only said part of what He has said in the Bible? How many times has God been misrepresented?



When it comes to the marriage the Bible does say that “Wives are to submit to their husbands…” but it goes on to say, “…as to the Lord”. The verse before this says that we should submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. The Bible does not teach that a wife should be under the control of a husband and yet how many have heard it said or taught or have seen it practiced in relationships. However, this is not my topic in this article. I’ll leave this for another time.



My topic concerns us judging one another. Later on in Matt. 7 Jesus does say that we should judge others. How many times have you heard that? Though the Bible does teach in other areas that we cannot judge one’s motives, it does teach that we are to judge the fruit (or actions) of one’s life. Jesus taught that words in themselves can be deceiving whereas one’s actions will tell you what is at the core of who they are. For instance, an apple tree cannot produce pears or carrots. An apple tree can only produce apples. A pear tree can only produce pears and so on. He went on to say, “Like wise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” Jesus was teaching how to discern an individual who knew Him from those that didn’t know Him. Paul writes (Titus 1:16), “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.” Mere words can deceive us. One saying that is often heard is, “Actions speak louder than words.” How true this is!



Why have I brought this up? Because many have said that they know God when in fact they really don’t know the God of the Bible. Why can I say this? Because by their lifestyles they deny any true knowledge of God. I’m not talking about a mistake that someone makes but a lifestyle that one lives. Let’s stop saying that we shouldn’t judge one another and let’s take a fresh look at those around us. Are their lifestyles telling us something good or evil about that person? Based on their lifestyles are they going to be an encouragement and help to us or will they end up hurting us? Those that truly have a relationship with Jesus will have a lifestyle that will help you succeed in life. Often you become like those with whom hang around. If you want to know the true God of the Bible, hang around those that say they know Him and display it in their speech and by their actions. To learn to judge others based on godly principles and then choosing to hang around those that are truly godly will have long term benefits in your life.