There is a word for people who do the following: people who don’t put their shopping carts away, people who talk on speaker phone when they are in public, people who don’t break off the pieces of a Kit Kat bar but instead bite directly into it and people who pour their milk in the bowl before their cereal. We call these people “monsters.” These people would be quick to say the phrase, “Don’t judge me.” (We’re only kidding by the way. They aren’t monsters.) 

Jesus, towards the end of His Sermon on the Mount, says this sentence in Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (NIV). This simple verse is another one that has been taken out of context over the years. People quote this verse when they think that someone is looking down on them for their lifestyle or their personal choices. We’ve all heard it said, “Don’t judge me.” 

What Jesus is telling us here is that we shouldn’t be judging people with an arrogant attitude. When we judge, assume or generalize things about people with a “I’m better than you” attitude, we deserve to be judged in that same manner. 

If we are honest about it, we would say that we judge all the time and most of the time we’re coming at it with a bad, selfish, prideful attitude. We judge others with an attitude that is not God-honoring but is instead self-honoring. A Bible Reference page on this verse says this, “To judge in this way is to assume authority that God has not given us” (Bibleref.com). God is the judge and we’re not. God is the judge and when we do it, arrogantly, we think we can do God’s job better than Him. Dangerous ground to be on. 

Jesus isn’t giving us a blanket statement that covers anything and everything. Jesus isn’t saying, “Never make a judgment call on anything.” Jesus is commanding us to not have an arrogant, “I’m better than you” attitude when you connect with other people. Jesus says later in John 7:24 (NIV), “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” If you are making a call on somebody because of the way they look, that’s a huge problem. More dangerous ground to be on. Examine people’s hearts, motives and lives and then make a call.

We consider things about people and their motives all the time. We make judgements. Jesus is saying to not be arrogant in your considerations of others. Jesus is telling us here not to judge merely by the clothes, the color of the skin or the teeth marks in the middle of the Kit Kat bar. Don’t forget what the Lord says in 1 Samuel 16:7, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” As we grow in Jesus, we’ll look more and more at the heart and not the appearance. Don’t forget Matthew 7:2. That same measure you use will be held up to you. Dangerous ground. 

Dig Deeper:

Is there a difference between judgment and discernment? 

Sometimes, we want to judge but not be judged. We judge others at face value, but don’t to be treated like that ourselves. How can you work to show others the same respect you want in return?

• November 1: Luke 6:37
• November 2: James 4:11-12
• November 3: Romans 2:1-3
• November 4: Ephesians 4:29
• November 6: James 1:26
• November 7: Proverbs 31:9
• November 8: Luke 6:31
• November 9: 1 Corinthians 2:15-16
• November 10: John 3:17
• November 11: 2 Corinthians 5:10
• November 12: Romans 12:16
• November 13: Galatians 5:14
• November 14: 1 Corinthians 5:12-13
• November 15: Leviticus 19:15
• November 16: Matthew 18:15-17
• November 17: Isaiah 11:3-4
• November 18: Jeremiah 17:10
• November 19: Proverbs 21:2
• November 20: 1 Samuel 2:3
• November 21: Proverbs 16:18
• November 22: Philippians 2:3
• November 23: Proverbs 16:5
• November 24: Galatians 6:7-8
• November 25: Proverbs 18:2
• November 26: Proverbs 18:12
• November 27: 1 Peter 5:5
• November 28: Luke 14:11
• November 29: James 4:6
• November 30: Isaiah 2:12