Who Are You to Judge?

The Art of Thinking Kind Thoughts About Other People

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

Matthew 7:1 (NIV)

I have witnessed so much torment come into people's lives because of judgmental and critical attitudes. Marriages and relationships have been destroyed by these enemies. Once again, the mind is the battlefield.

I can personally relate. Years ago, I was truly one of the most critical and judgmental people I knew. It was my “default” setting. If I was at the mall or even at church, I could look at someone and immediately make three or four judgments about their clothes, hair, behavior, or family. Or if I walked into someone’s home, everything could be absolutely perfect, but somehow I would notice that one corner of wallpaper that was ripped slightly.

I’ll admit, judging and criticizing others was something I rather enjoyed doing before God began to change me. However, little by little, He used His Word to begin showing me truth about myself.

I’ll never forget one day in particular. I had just finished judging someone and nitpicking them about something in my thoughts, when the Holy Spirit so clearly spoke to my heart and said, “Joyce, you look at everyone else with a magnifying glass, but you look at yourself through rose-colored glasses.”

I got the point! The truth is, we can be pretty quick to recognize what’s wrong with other people and see all of their issues. However, even though we may have some of the same problems ourselves, we usually have good excuses to justify them.

Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 7:5: You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye (NIV).

Jesus is basically saying, “You love to point out everyone else’s faults, but you should really begin with yourself. Until you get yourself straightened out, you can’t really even help anyone else!”

We need to forget about what everyone else is or isn’t doing, present ourselves before God, and let Him do a work in us. The truth is, the more we allow God to change us, the less we are bothered by the faults of others.

Our circumstances may never be perfect, and the things we don’t like about our family, friends, or coworkers may not change, but God can do something even better: He can change us.

Study Tip: Read the following scriptures: Matthew 7:1-5; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 Thessalonians 4:11; James 2:13. What do these verses tell us about judging others? Instead of judging, what does God instruct us to do?

Walk It Out: It’s easy to view others with a critical eye yet excuse our own behavior. I challenge you to put this lesson into practice this week. When you are tempted to judge or think about someone in a critical manner, stop and choose to think loving and merciful thoughts about them instead. Choose to believe the best. No one else may know you’re doing this, but that’s okay. You are taking a giant step forward spiritually!