Judging Others

Judgmental Christians

In this day and age, this world is full of people from all walks of life. There are poor people, there are homeless people, and there are the criminals and thieves. There are blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, and Arabic people. There are Jewish people, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, and other religions. There are people that suffer from mental illness, unseen medical illness, and all other forms of illnesses.

Unfortunately, there are also the judgmental people. They take one look at a person and judge them by how big they are, what clothes they wear, how they wear their hair and makeup. They also judge people by the cars they drive, the homes they live in, and the jobs they do.  The people that have a tendency to judge others also judge them by the criteria I mentioned in the last paragraph.

The one thing that I have heard over and over again is how judgmental Christians are and that makes me sad. God created us all. The only difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that the non-Christian is not yet saved; they have not yet come to know Jesus.

We were created to be disciples of Jesus. We are to go out into the world and tell people the Good News. But if we come off judgmental, critical and rude, why would anyone want to convert to Christianity? If I was a nonbeliever, rudeness and criticism would be the biggest turn off of converting to Christianity.

The Bible says in Matthew 7:1-5 Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 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.

This means that in the way you judge others is the way that God is going to judge you. Another thing that these verses are in reference to is why you are looking at the faults of your neighbor before taking care of your own faults.

We are to love our neighbors as ourselves as stated in Mark 12:31. This means that we are to love our neighbor just as much as we love ourselves. We love ourselves even though we have faults right? We need to show love to our neighbors in the same measure.

It is not our job to judge others, that job belongs solely to God. Our job is to love our neighbor. You can hate the sin, that is fine, but love the sinner.

And before judging others sin, remember, that we all sin. It is stated in Romans 3:23 that “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

So the next time you look at someone or meet someone, before you lay judgement on them, remember your own faults and sin, and show these people consideration and love.

Heavenly Father,

Forgive me when I have passed judgement on others before looking into my own life. Help me to show love and kindness to all, no matter their background or nationality. Let your light shine through me to show the nonbelievers that you are a God of love, and that your love shines through us onto others. In your precious son’s name I pray, Amen.