Breaking the yardstick of judgment

There’s a scripture that reads: “Judge not, for the same measuring rod that you use to judge will be used on you.” (Matt. 7:2) Matthew goes on to say, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” (NLT)

God's son went on to say, "consider the log in your own eye before asking your friend 'let me help you get that speck out of your eye.'”

It’s an interesting phenomenon isn’t it? For some reason we tend to readily focus on the speck in our friend’s eye. Even though we can hardly see out of our own eye due to do anything about it.

What God's son was saying is that quite often, we are in no position to judge anyone. How much advice given out among friends in daily living is unasked for, and actually a judgment; would you guess 99%? And how much advice comes from individuals who have no real expertise or experience to offer? 99% again?

That’s a lot of advice going around as judgment that probably doesn’t have a solid foundation for it.

Consider that the standard we use when judging will be the very same standard used to judge us. Wow. How would we stand up to that standard? And what is that standard, to begin with? Is it fair? Is it honest? Is it objective?

How fair is a standard that bypasses facts, skips over inferences and begins with a judgment? How adequate is a standard that is based solely on our own preferences? How helpful is a standard that seeks to strike down instead of build up? Ouch!

Which leads us to another question: What is the goal of our judging in the first place? What’s our aim? What do we hope to accomplish by judging? Is it to help the other person become better, stronger and whole? Is it to encourage the talents and good that are stored inside them?

If not, then the goal of our judging probably isn't helpful and the standard we are using, ultimately gets in the way of honest, open communication and doesn’t accomplish anything positive – either in our own life or in the life of the other person we are judging.

What’s the effect of our judging others? Does it leave them feeling validated and encouraged in their relationship with us and God? Does it feed their soul, moving them forward in life?

It’s a sobering thought to consider that the yardstick we use to judge others will be used by God to judge us. 

Maybe today God's asking us to throw the yardstick away.

Sidenote: Of course, there's a process to this. First, to admit that we judge (no one likes to admit that they're judgmental, myself included). Second, to go to God with that confession and ask God's help - to replace judgment with blessing others. Third, to monitor our judgmental thoughts towards others and when they crop up, to ask God to help replace those thoughts. To actively seek opportunities to bless our friends, to speak positively and to realize there are differences between judging, advice and discipline.

photo credit: www.clumsygrace.com