Judge Not, Lest Ye ... What?

Spirituality Column #208
November 2, 2010
Current in Carmel - Current in Westfield - Current in Noblesville
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Judge Not, Lest Ye … What?
By Bob Walters

“Judge not, lest ye be judged.” (Matthew 7:1-2)

Is there a more widely celebrated scripture verse in society today?

Or one whose true meaning is more misunderstood?

My friend Brent Riggs’ “SeriousFaith.com” blog provides illuminating reading for any biblically literate believer. He says it’s illogical “not” to judge.

“People say, ‘the Bible says don’t judge.’ What the Bible says and means is ‘don’t judge … in a manner that will bring judgment on you.’ Everyone leaves out the second part,” Brent writes. “It means don’t judge in a way that 1) is hypocritical and 2) uses human standards instead of God’s divine standard that is above pettiness, selfishness and the agenda of man.”

“Don’t judge”? Nonsense. We have to judge. We have to discern. We have to develop smarts and discretion and wisdom. We have to judge – constantly – between good and evil, helpful and harmful, loving and unloving, right choice and wrong choice.

Psychology and sociology have unfortunately replaced theology and philosophy as the primary behavioral guiding lights in the Academy. The post-modern academic world of science and research universities constantly seeks to diminish, decentralize and compartmentalize truth. It abhors judgment based on the absolute moral authority of God. In its “judgment” – firmly and ironically – there are no God standards.

Perhaps, like me, you find it disturbing that these soft-science academics (along with journalists and pundits) pass for arbiters of ultimate worldly judgment guiding our cultural conversation on who can judge whom about what.

Why do we intellectually allow that? God’s standards are high, so why do we dumb down expectations of ourselves and each other, reacting to corrections and rebukes by misapplying a Biblical proof-text?

“Don’t judge.” Baloney. We may as well say it in the vernacular: “Get out of my face!” In other words, it’s not “Don’t judge,” but “Don’t judge me.”

My favorite definition of sin is “anything that falls short of God’s standards.” And God’s standards according to the Bible include declaring one’s faith in Jesus Christ, loving God, loving and serving others, and engaging one’s heart, soul and mind in pursuit of God’s truth, to gaze at the face of Christ.

Channeling Johnny Cochran, “Human standards are in dispute, while God’s standards are absolute.”

Saying “don’t judge” is akin to saying, “don’t think.” Even secularists know we have to think; believers know how comforting it is to think of God first.

Walters (www.believerbob.blogspot.com, email rlwcom@aol.com) felt that a discussion on right judgment and God’s standards was appropriate on Election Day.