Lookahead: It does occur to me that this is “a lot of overhead.” But it just goes to show that it takes a lot of energy not to judge and to essentially overcome human nature. Which brings me to (6): I acknowledge that humans make lousy judges, so I purposely defer to Him. Basically, people aren’t perfect and make mistakes when they judge, especially when the adversary gets involved…As of January 2022, 375 people previously convicted of serious crimes in the United States had been exonerated by DNA testing since 1989, 21 of whom had been sentenced to death…The National Registry of Exonerations lists 2,939 convicted defendants who were exonerated through DNA and non-DNA evidence from January, 1989 through January, 2022 with more than 25,600 years imprisoned.”
Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? James 4:11,12
At first glance, James’ injunction appears to echo Jesus’:
Luke 6:37,41 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?
We’ll park on this for a while, with more to come in the next post. In that post, we will deal with why judging a brother = judging (not doing) the law. In this post, we will deal with, There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
I believe that in both Jesus’ and James’ cases, they were referring to judging fellow Christians. The problem with us feeling entitled to judge a brother or sister in Christ is that we do so from a position of pride that is usually inflamed by lies. Our pride blinds us to the fact that the criteria we have defined as acceptable is completely trivialized in the face of our own shortfalls. Our eyes are indeed on the recipients’ specks of sawdust versus our own planks.
But how do we keep from judging someone–especially people who we believe have hurt us and/or our loved ones? Or what about when Christians flat out disappoint us (as happened to me since the last post)? For example, what about when a minister whom I know gets swept up in a prostitution sting…or another minister decides to get married, when some of us are still “wearing black” for their deceased spouse…or all web presence of my fav Christian fitness expert disappears–with any possible reason being swept under the carpet. (And with reddit suggesting they succumbed to COVID, their prolific video generation has ceased; so I’m thinkin’ privacy to keep royalties rolling in?). As you can see, it’s hard for me to keep those little wheels from turning–running what-if scenarios in my brain. But I have zero visibility at the worst, and in-the-weeds level at best, as I judge these people (or Pub Rel Peeps) for their supposed actions. God has unfettered, macro-level visibility into each situation. He knows every extenuating circumstance…And as for James? He says “NOYB!” My only re-action should be to forgive, and pray as applicable.
So again, how do I keep from judging someone when I’ve been hurt/disappointed? (1) I realize that Jesus doesn’t want us to do it. (2) I re-center myself by getting with God. There hasn’t been a single time that He hasn’t re-framed the situation and helped me to forgive. (3) Before, during, and after receiving God’s truth, I’m intentional about casting down the lies of the enemy. (4) In accordance with Ephesians 6:10-18, I pray for protection, healing, and restoration as needed. God will always save us out of the situation, and give us grace and wisdom for the moment. (5) I try to keep my eyes on the prize and not to lose sight of “the main thing.” (God is) not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 Judging is His job, and mine is to be a vessel of His love. I am not a good witness for Him if I’m mean and mouthy…
It does occur to me that this is “a lot of overhead.” But it just goes to show that it takes a lot of energy not to judge and to essentially overcome human nature. Which brings me to (6): I acknowledge that humans make lousy judges, so I purposely defer to Him. Basically, people aren’t perfect and make mistakes when they judge, especially when the adversary gets involved…
“As of January 2022, 375 people previously convicted of serious crimes in the United States had been exonerated by DNA testing since 1989, 21 of whom had been sentenced to death. Almost all (99%) of the wrongful convictions were males, with minority groups constituting approximately 70% (61% African American and 8% Latino). The National Registry of Exonerations lists 2,939 convicted defendants who were exonerated through DNA and non-DNA evidence from January, 1989 through January, 2022 with more than 25,600 years imprisoned.” In one tragic case, two juries with different venues, two separately elected DA’s, state district, superior and supreme courts/judges, state appellate court/judge, and the US Supreme Court erred in judgment. Even after DNA testing clearly exonerated the inmate, he was not released from prison. If the actual perpetrator, cornered by partial DNA evidence, had not spontaneously (gratuitously) confessed to the murder–with grisly details that only the murderer could have known–the inmate would probably still be serving his life sentence. Bear in mind, this was twenty years into a sentence that could only have ended in natural death or suicide. As it was, although the inmate had been set free from prison, he was still in bondage–dealing with PTSD, insomnia, standing at doors waiting for guards to open them, compulsively going to ATMs to keep a surveillance record JIC an alibi was needed, and never getting to the place of not feeling utterly worthless.1
In the end, the only way that he was able to escape the bondage was via suicide twelve years after his release.2
Ten times out of ten, when we find ourselves judging someone else, we are listening to the lies of the enemy. We can never fully know someone else’s heart–that’s God’s territory. And He Himself is not quick to judge and, again, is not willing that any should perish. In the above case, the adversary worked through a network of evil/sinful people to weave such a convincing false narrative that the mother of the victim continued to judge the inmate as guilty. With cameras rolling in court, she announced to the world that a terrible mistake had been made–the court was about to release a man who, despite his multitudinous assertions of innocence, was definitely not innocent of the murder of her daughter. Consequently, if it were possible, he was crushed further just before what should have been the moment of greatest victory–when the judge vacated his murder conviction and dismissed the case with prejudice (meaning he could never be tried again for the murder). Why was she permitted to re-introduce the lingering doubt in the courtroom of public opinion? Once again, I think it had the name “adversary” written all over it.
This shows how fallible and harmful worldly people can be when they become judgmental, but Christians have been given the Wonderful Counselor, Comforter, Called-beside, Helper, Spirit of Truth, Spirit of discernment, and Strengthener. (Isaiah 9:6, John 14:16 and 26, 16:13, Eph 3:16,17). So if they have opened their hearts to receive this priceless gift, they will be able to let go and let God.
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2“https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/19/darryl-hunt-exonerated-self-inflicted-gunshot“.
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