How many times have you heard folks say things like this: "You should not judge!", "It is wrong to judge!"?
-We must, especially as Christians, be careful of embracing these obviously contradictory assertions. Chesterton speaks brilliantly about the lack of logic surrounding this type of reasoning in a section of his book "Orthodoxy" often referred to as the "New Rebel"
"The new rebel is a skeptic, and will not trust anything… therefore he can never be really a revolutionary. For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind… Therefore the modern man in revolt has become practically useless for all purposes for revolt. By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything… "
-The same critique o f logic, or lack thereof, can be applied to the category of judgment. Just as soon as you have condemned judgement as wrong, immoral, or inappropriate, you have cut off the branch on which you were sitting and have now fallen to the ground, but are still shouting advice!
-If you follow the logical integrity of your argument that "it is wrong, or you should not judge" you have just denied yourself the right to make that statement, therefore rendering the line or thought impotent.
It is therefore of much greater consideration to figure out the nature, or character of HOW we are meant to judge, since the act of judgment is blatantly unavoidable, and therefore the act itself cannot be wrong- because as Chesterton reminds us " all denunciation implies a moral doctrine". Basically, you cannot use moral doctrine to denounce that moral doctrine exists! Yet, to a great extent many are stuck in this fallacy. In the Church we have been conformed to the worldly values of "addiction to universal tolerance" and "judgment-abstaining" (even though both are judgmental moral doctrines themselves). I hear all the time from Christians" It is not for me to judge" YES IT IS! Yet, Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6 that "we will judge ANGELS, how much more matters of this earth!"
As I stated before, judging cannot be avoided, so now we move to the real question. It is no longer "should I judge?" but it becomes this: Since I cannot avoid judging I will ask right question: "how should I judge?" Now we have come to the heart of the matter! Let Jesus redirect our inquiry: He concedes that we will judge, but concerns himself with the standard, or character of that judgment. Judge with mercy.
There is such overwhelming evidence in the scriptures about making judgments, it is hard to see how we have come to value abandoning the practice altogether!
Consider the qualifications for leaders in Timothy and Titus.
Titus chapter one says a leader must be able to teach SOUND doctrine and refute unsound teaching. This implies that there is both sound and unsound doctrine and teaching, and leaders must be able to judge between the two, in order to teach the proper kind, and refute the improper kind... and Timothy cites a good teacher, among other qualifications! This implies there are bad teachers, and bad lessons. Those choosing the leaders must judge the quality of the teacher and his doctrine, and the teachers themselves must be able to judge the error of bad teaching in order to confute it....
The story goes on and on...the entire canon of the New Testament is rife with judgment and moral doctrine. It cannot be merely just dispensed with or suspended because we are worried about offending people, political correctness, or just being nice!
Therefore, equip yourself to make judgments with proper character to them. Towards each other with mercy, so that you may be shown mercy. And towards truth claims, teachings, doctrine etc, with a trained eye to discern truth from error, the unsound from the sound, or else this fate may await:
Paul says in Colossians 2 "I say this in order that no one may delude you with beguiling speech."
---Why would he say this? Because they were being deluded with beguiling speech: a judgment!
"See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. "
-Judgment....again...
Romans 1 "they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools" -Well I do believe he is making some judgments here... why have we decided to adopt the worldly value of not judging when it is so obviously not a scriptural principal.
-And more judgment... When you abandon your right to judge, you abdicate a gift that God is calling you to use when in Romans 12 Paul says : Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed (how????) by the renewing of your mind!
So judge, but judge with mercy. And prepare yourself to judge matters of truth lest your practice of intense neutrality causes you to be led astray!
Please avoid the amoral vacuum of tolerance, it is not what it appears! Because after abdicating your God-given right to judge a certain matter, you will have found you are left with no vehicle by which to judge any matter, and that is a dangerous place to be...
Alexander Hamilton's idiom holds true:
"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything"
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