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Judge Not! Judge Not? Really?


“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5)
 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (I Timothy 3:16-17)
 
          Every so often, someone proclaims "Judge not!" It's a part of a verse that is quite popular among some portions of our population, even if they aren't Christians. Today's passage is the full text of that part of Jesus' sermon. Reading all of it, it seems absolutely critical, even vital that we do judge, because once we judge ourselves and remove the plank, we can help our brothers who have specks. Jesus never says we're not to remove our brothers' specks - only that we should do it in the manner that makes it easiest and safest to that brother for us to do it. I would certainly not like the idea of my eye surgeon performing surgery while he has a cataract, but at the same time, an eye surgeon can save me from blindness and death.  
          Today's second passage gives a balance to "Judge not." If all Scripture is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, then is it wrong to teach, rebuke, correct or train? Can we teach, rebuke, correct and train without judging that what someone is doing is wrong - or right? Is it right to refuse to help equip the man of God for every good work?
          Putting aside the fact that those who say "Judge not!" are violating their own command, there is another important question that we should all ask when we are judged (and we are all judged on a daily basis.) I'll illustrate it with a story I heard. Mrs. Nardone[1] told me that one day her daughter came home in tears. Kids at school had been saying something mean to her. After some gentle prodding, the girl said, "They said I'm short!"
          Mrs. Nardone sighed. She is perhaps five feet tall, and her husband is only a little taller. She said, "Well, honey, you are short." The more important question that needs to be asked when one is judged is, "Is the judgment true?" If it's true, then maybe you should thank the person who "judged" you, even if you find someone else to help you remove that speck.

[1] Sorry, I've forgotten her first name. She told this story as a motivational talk.

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