Judging Your Judgment: Luke 6:27-38 - Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

[Jesus said:] ²⁷“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. ³⁰Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.
  ³²“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
  ³⁷“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; ³⁸give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (NRSV)

Parallel parking by Don Harder on flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0

In the United States, anyone accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law by an impartial jury of their peers.

The court of public opinion, however, guarantees no rights. When a face and name appear on the news or social media, alongside an accusation, the public will judge that person as guilty or innocent—and often, the decisions of a court of law will not change their mind.

Jesus says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.” But that is easier said than done.

Whether you realize it or not, you make thousands of judgments every day. When you’re picking produce at the supermarket, you’re judging its freshness. When you’re parallel parking, you’re judging whether your car will fit into the space—or whether you can get it in there. The process of becoming an adult is all about learning to exercise good judgment. It will keep your body and your relationships healthy. It will help you reach your goals. Good judgment will help you to safely navigate a frightening and uncertain world. Chances are that your sense of judgment reflects that of your families, teachers, and community. 

As a sinner, however, your sense of judgment is flawed. You may find very easy to trust someone who’s charismatic and tells you everything you want to hear. You will trust their judgement. But later, you discover that person is a con artist. Conversely, it is extremely easy to judge certain people as untrustworthy and dangerous when, in fact, they mean you absolutely no harm. We call this bias. 

America has turned being judgmental into a national pastime. Your ego may get quite the boost in watching a TV talk show, as if to say, “I’m a good and decent person because I don’t behave like those people I saw on the Dr. Phil show.”  Who isn’t entertained watching someone audition on a TV talent competition who has absolutely no talent whatsoever, and end up being excoriated by the judges and the audience? Today’s news programming doesn’t exist to keep you informed as much as it does to exploit your anger and your fear so that you keep watching.

Judging and condemning others may indeed help you to feel strong, intelligent, and on the side of all that is good and true. That’s why we do it so much!

On the flipside, it is dreadful to live under judgment. 

We’re all sinners. We hurt each other. We say and do things we regret. Shame is a natural human response to the wrong that we do. But how do you move forward when people are against you?

You know how it’s said, “no good deed goes unpunished?” You did what you believed was the right thing to do, and someone’s calling you a devil. In today’s world, you can say or do something totally innocent—an unwittingly violate the laws of political correctness. Next thing you know, everyone’s treating you like you’re the worst person in the world.

You may not have done anything at all—right or wrong—but everyone is judging you because of your gender, age, race, orientation, your economic status, any number reasons. 

When you are constantly on the receiving end of other peoples’ judgment, you begin to believe it. You internalize it. 

To condemn someone is to count them unworthy of life. Is not that a form of murder?

It is an unfortunate but untrue fact that some Christians are extremely judgmental. It may also be that the most judgmental person you will ever meet is the face staring back at you in the mirror. 

Strange as it may sound, no one knows what it’s like to suffer judgment better than Jesus. He was the sinless Son of God, but people constantly judged him to be a glutton, a drunk, a blasphemer, and the devil himself. It wasn’t God’s judgment that Jesus bore on the cross. It was ours. 

And yet, the cross is good news for every sinner deserving of judgment. It is Christ who frees you from the curse of every judgment: other people’s judgments; other Christians’ judgments; your judgments against yourself. 

Being judgmental doesn’t just destroy the neighbor. It destroys you—because if you are a person of conscience, your judgment of others will only add to your guilt and shame whenever you make a mistake or hurt someone. Furthermore, a nation and a community cannot heal or do anything worthwhile if its members are against each other. When you judge and condemn, you pour gasoline on the fires of hatred and division tearing our society apart—and you may very well end up being burned by the flames.

As you grow in your faith, you are going to find that some of your judgments and values were not as right or true as you once believed them to be. If the Gospel isn't challenging you, then are you really paying attention? You will find that God really does love the people you judge; and that living in relationship with such persons could be the best thing that’s ever happened to you! Best of all, God’s acceptance of you does not depend on how righteous you are or how right you are. God’s judgment is nothing to fear. God judges your sin to free you from it. God’s judgment is about mercy and redemption; not wrath and hell.

The more that we live out these promises together as the Body of Christ, and learn to see our neighbors not through the eyes of judgment but through eyes of mercy, we will reach more people for Christ; we will see greater transformation of ourselves and our communities; we will have hope in trying times, and we will be more at peace with ourselves. 

We can judge each other to hell, or we can love each other and heal. Jesus has shown us the better way.