Judging Each Other for all the Wrong Reasons

Judging. We human beings do a lot of it when we look at each other, don’t we? And before we go any further, I’m just as guilty as anyone else on the planet. We judge on skin color, hairstyles, clothing, the jobs we have, the cars we drive, the houses we live in, our incomes, and virtually any other comparable facet of life. Did you notice the things I listed there are all on the outside?

What does our Heavenly Father judge us on? Are they the same standards?

That’s rhetorical. You know the answer. The New King James version of 1st Samuel 16:7 says, “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (what’s inside a man or woman).” In other words, the strength, compassion, or the character of a person. Even the stuff that we hide deep inside ourselves that we don’t want other people to see.

So, if the church has access to that particular nugget from the Bible, can I assume that we give each other a little more grace and mercy than the world gives us? The kind of grace and mercy the Father gives to those of us who believe in His son?

Let me tell you a story by way of Charles Price, who pastors the Peoples Church of Toronto. A friend of his went overseas to the Netherlands to share the Gospel with the Dutch people. After a while, this friend became friends with many of the Dutch Christians already there. What he found shocked him.

He was amazed to find out how upset Dutch Christians are with the state of American Christians. You see, they did NOT approve of the American Christians’ style of clothing, as well as the makeup that American women applied to themselves. They felt both the clothing and the makeup had become a part of American Christian culture, which meant worldly sin had crept into the church. They would never let the world impact them and apply makeup as the Americans did.

Dutch Christians were actually crying real tears because they’d gotten so worked up telling this story to the friend of Pastor Price. Those tears ran down their faces and off the edge of their noses, landing in their mugs of beer and over the top of their cigarettes as they lamented at the “worldliness” of American Christians.

Now, before anyone gets indignant, that level of judgement can and does go the other way, too. That’s the danger of legalism. As we try to honor God’s Word, we tend to contextualize our faith in every time period, every country, and with every group of people, trying to make our faith fit into black and white categories. Too much gray in the world for that, I suppose.

The old favorite, Romans 3:23, says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Thank goodness that God no longer holds worldliness against those who believe in His Son, Jesus. So why do we still hold it against each other because someone looks and acts differently than we do?

I know the answer is sin, but that seems so trite. However trite it may be, it’s the truth. What happens when we don’t judge each other by worldly standards? How different the would the world most certainly be?

Give a little grace, as your Father gives you the ultimate grace. If we are made in His image, I'm guessing that's kind of a requirement? It’s not something we can simply do in our own limited strength. Ask Him for help. Ask Him for the wisdom to do the right thing when tempted to judge or look down on others. After all, James 1:5 said it best; “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to you!”