Bible Question: "Should we judge others?"

Bible Answer: "No" is the short answer. Let me quote one of my favorite writers on this topic, Oswald Chambers, in "My Utmost for His Highest," one of the great devotional books of all time.

"Jesus' instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, 'Don't.' The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it.

"The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood.

"Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time.

"You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person," Chambers writes.

The verses cited by Chambers, which quote Christ and make this matter of judging others crystal clear, are Matthew 7:1-5.

"Judge not, that you be not judged. "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?

"Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?

"Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye," Jesus says in Matthew 7:1-5.

Not only do these verses strongly command us not judge our brothers and sisters, they also contain a strong warning: If we do judge, the same judgment we hand out will come back upon us.

I have heard it said that Christians shouldn't judge, but that we must be fruit inspectors. If we do detect bad spiritual fruit in others' lives, there is only one thing we should do about it.

Pray for that person, with the full knowledge that what we find to be critical about in another person is often the hidden sin in our own lives that we refuse to confront. I believe that is what Jesus is telling us about the plank blocking our own vision when we complain about the speck we see in our brother's eye.

Once we see ourselves in that light, then we can pray for our brothers with a spirit of intercession, not a critical spirit.

"I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God," writes Chambers in conclusion to this daily devotion.

Submit Bible questions by email to writeme@johnwmyers.com

(John Myers has been a Christian lay speaker, Sunday School adult teacher and newspaper Bible study columnist for more than 20 years.)