Why We Must Stop Judging People - Part 9
“At that time Jesus went through the wheat fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry so they were picking heads of wheat and eating them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are breaking the Sabbath law.’
“But he said to them, ‘Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? He went into God’s house and broke the law by eating the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple treat the Sabbath as any other day and are still innocent? But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what this means, I want mercy and not sacrifice, you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent.’”—Matthew 12:1-7 (CEB)
When we judge our brothers and sisters, focusing on their faults and condemning them without due process, even if it is only in our thoughts, we become just like these Pharisees that earned Jesus’ rebuke.
One of Satan’s titles is “the accuser of the brethren.” (See Revelation 12:10.) When we choose to judge our brothers and sisters, rather than loving and accepting them as they are, we cross over from doing the will of God to doing the works of Darkness. We step out of agreement with God’s will and align ourselves with the will of Satan, joining forces with Darkness and joining with the voices of devils as we also become accusers of the brethren.
Make no mistake. When we sit in judgment of our brothers and sisters, finding fault with them and accusing them of wrongdoing without due process, we are doing the works of Darkness. We are no longer walking in God’s will, but we have chosen to align ourselves with Satan and his demons, working with them.
“The person who says that he is in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. The person who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no reason for him to stumble. But the person who hates his brother is in the darkness and lives in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”—1 John 2:9-11 (ISV)
Love without Judgment
“Yes, you must show mercy to others. If you do not show mercy, then God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the one who shows mercy can stand without fear before the Judge.”—James 2:13 (ERV)
When Jesus started a conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4, she asked Him why he was even talking to her.
“For the Jews have nothing to do with the Samaritans”—John 4:9 (AMPC)
There was a great deal of prejudice and animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans. They had already pre-judged and rejected each other.
Jesus felt no prejudice toward this woman. He had not judged her, even though she had many faults, and so He could approach Her with pure love, accepting her just as she was, with all of her faults.
As a result, her life was transformed, and her entire city welcomed the Messiah with open arms.
In similar ways, Jesus reached out to others who had been pre-judged and rejected.
He welcomed lepers, who had been declared “unclean” and ostracized by the rest of society. He didn’t shy away from being in their company, demonstrating love and unconditional acceptance to them. He didn’t treat them any differently than anyone else.
He reached out to Zacchaeus, a despised and corrupt tax collector, whose life was transformed after Jesus ate with him in Zacchaeus’s own home.
He even welcomed another tax collector, Matthew, into the company of his twelve apostles.
Jesus demonstrated so much love and acceptance to people who had been judged and rejected by others that people thought that He was one of them!
“The Son of Man came eating and drinking [with others], and they say, ‘Look! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews]!’ Yet wisdom is justified and vindicated by her deeds [in the lives of those who respond to Me].”—Matthew 11:19 (AMP)
When the religious leaders brought a woman to Jesus in John chapter 8 who had been caught in the act of adultery, they had already judged and condemned her in their own minds.
There was no love, no compassion, no mercy shown by the religious leaders. They didn’t care about this woman. Her life had no value in their eyes.
In contrast, Jesus responded with mercy and compassion.
After the woman’s accusers were driven away by their own guilty consciences, Jesus spoke to the woman. Jesus was the only one who focused on the woman herself. The religious leaders had only focused on her faults.
The religious leaders, walking in Darkness, had partnered with “the Accuser of the Brethren” to become unjust accusers of their own sister.
Jesus spoke with the woman about the judgment and condemnation she had suffered from the religious people.
Then Jesus stood up and asked her, “Dear lady, where are your accusers? Hasn’t anyone condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she replied.
Then Jesus said, “I don’t condemn you, either. Go home, and from now on don’t sin anymore.”—John 8:10-11 (ISV)
When we rush to judge and condemn people, even in our thoughts, we can actually partner with Satan, doing his work as “accusers of the brethren.”
We must make a conscious shift in our thinking to prioritize mercy over judgment. Jesus did not appoint us to be His “morality police.” It is not our job to be His “enforcers” with responsibilities to judge and condemn those who do wrong.
Jesus sent us out into the world to demonstrate His love, compassion and mercy because “mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13 NKJV). If judgment is needed, it must be handled through the proper authorities, following due process.
We Christians tend to have a strong sense of justice. We want to see justice done. But there is no need to be concerned that someone will get off “scot free.” We can rest assured that no one will escape ultimate justice.
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap.”—Galatians 6:7 (NASB)
We must learn to trust in God’s justice, knowing that God will bring justice to correct all wrongs; and His justice is perfect.
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”—Romans 12:19 (ESV)
“… for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed [at the judgment], or kept secret that will not be made known [at the judgment].”—Matthew 10:26 (AMP)
We can leave the judgment to God and focus on demonstrating love, acceptance, mercy, and compassion to the people who cross our paths.
“Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger, And it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment].”—Proverbs 19:11 (AMP)
