But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; Jude 10
Matthew 7:1: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”
Admit it. There’s a lot we don’t know. That’s why we are not appointed to be judges. We know Matthew 7:1 doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make judgments. But it does mean we are not judges. The reason is we don’t have the facts. People often rage against judges or juries because of what appear to be ridiculous verdicts. Generally, those ragers don’t have the facts.
God is the judge; He is the one with all the facts. There is nothing hidden from Him. There is much hidden from us. I recall a story recently about a man whose kids seemed to be going wild in a fast food restaurant. The other diners concluded he was a terrible parent. They didn’t know his wife had just died and his kids’ rudeness in a McDonalds was not his biggest issue at that moment.
We are so quick to draw conclusions from a minimum of facts. If I say, “convict” you will quickly draw a mental picture. Have you met many “convicts?” Have you spent time with any? Can you really say you know any? Pastor T shared with our friendship group on Wednesday morning how many of his assumptions about certain groups were challenged by his time in Africa. Much of the political turmoil in Washington stems from a lack of knowledge and some too quickly drawn conclusions about political opponents.
We speak evil of other Christians who worship differently, or who are from different denominations or cultures. The sad truth is that we are all guilt of this judgmental attitude. We don’t know all the facts. Note this is not to say that certain acts or failures to act constitute sin. Scripture makes these things clear. We are disqualified as judges not because there is not absolute truth; but because we absolutely don’t know all the facts. That’s an important difference.
Too often we are quick to criticize, even when we don’t know the whole story. Be careful about criticizing others. Too often what you hear is just rumor. Do not be a criticizer. Be an encourager. Be a person who is known for always seeking to lift and bless, not speaking evil of whatever you do not know. For even now you are being judged by others; who don’t really know you.
Nick
Be the first to reply