“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2).
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces” (Matthew 7:6).
I’ve always found these verses so closely together in the Bible to be so instructive about the Bible and how we need to be discerning in interpreting Jesus and the Scripture. He seems at first glance to be contradicting us, first telling us not to judge others, then telling us we have to judge others. How can we do both and do neither?
Yet that is the precise thing Jesus tells us in these three verses. Judge not, but discern. And there is a difference. Making sure we are aware of the difference and practice the difference is the difference between obedience and sin.
Judgment vs. Discernment
Is there really a difference between judgment and discernment? The short answer is, “Yes.” Discernment considers a situation and the people involved in the situation, while judgment looks at a person and makes a comparison.
When a person make a discernment, that person makes a reasoned determination of whether a situation is open for discussion or not. There are times when someone says something that speaks to the need to respond; other times, the situation is best to remain silent. The instruction Jesus gives in Matthew 7:6 is one such occasion. What He’s saying is that, before we share the gospel (or any other matter to someone), we need to consider whether that person or group of people are willing to have an open dialogue on the matter or not. Sometimes, people have already made their minds up and nothing is going to change that. So move on. Discernment considers the situation and utilizes the facts surrounding the situation.
Jesus used this method of dealing with the Sanhedrin as He stood accused before them after Judas had betrayed Him. The religious leaders had already decided they needed to condemn Jesus and have Him sentenced to death. They had pre-arranged “witnesses” to give testimony against Him. Throughout the ordeal, Jesus remained silent. Did He have the right to speak? Sure. Did He speak? No. Why? Why cast your pearls before swine? People who are determined to revile me for my beliefs or my opinion are not only not willing to listen, but are just as likely to take my words, twist them around and use them to condemn me—what Jesus referred to as the pigs “trampling them under their feet, then turn and tear you to pieces.”
We all need to use discernment. It’s the prudent thing to do. It doesn’t take long to assess a situation and determine whether or not there is an openness to listen and learn (from both sides). There are some people I won’t discuss politics with because it does no good. There are others I enjoy talking about politics, even though we are coming from different sides of the spectrum. I enjoy hearing their opinion and why they think the way they do, and they in turn give me the same respect as I share my ideas. How do we learn if we don’t challenge ourselves or allow ourselves to be challenged?
Judgment, on the other hand, is the tendency to look at someone and compare them to ourselves, usually on a superficial way. I see a person standing on a street corner with a sign asking for a handout. I can look down my nose at someone like that, condemning them for the circumstances that brought them to that situation. Or I can see someone doing something that isn’t what I would do, and, because they choose to do that, I look down my nose at them and think less of them as a person because they don’t act as I do.
A few years ago, I brought my car into a place to get new tires. The young man who stood at the counter was covered with tattoos and had several piercings. His initial impression on me was not favorable. Yet, as I began to deal with him, he was courteous, professional and very knowledgeable. When our transaction was completed, I had a completely different view of this young man. No, I don’t present myself as he chose to, but I would like to think that I come across as professionally and courteously as he did. In short, my judgment was wrong.
The reality is, we are more likely to be guilty of judging others than we are of discerning. We do both, but it is probable that we have greater opportunities to judge than we do to discern.
So What’s So Bad About Judging Others?
For those who profess a commitment to living as Jesus did—to living the Christian life—judgment is antithetical to everything the Gospel teaches. As followers of Christ, we are called to a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:16-20), but judgment necessitates dividing people. As followers of Christ, we are called to love as He loved (John 13:34-35), but judgment encourages a dismissive attitude. As followers of Christ, we are expected to be a unifying presence in our world (Galatians 3:26-28; Colossians 3:11), but judgment allows us to segregate based on superficial differences.
It’s easy for me to see someone different from me and to think less of him or her, or to envy her or him, depending on where and who that person is. It’s all too convenient to make snap decisions about those around us and to automatically think the worst of them or the particular group of people. When we judge, we label, and when we label, we dehumanize. It’s so much easier to hate someone or a group of people once we dehumanize them.
Think back to World War II and the names that were used to describe our enemies. They were not the Germans or Japanese, but the Nazis and Tojo (Tojo was prime minister of Japan through the majority of the war). There were other epithets and names we have used to make the killing of human beings easier for us in war (think of the names we relate to Korea or Viet Nam; we didn’t like the Commies when the Soviet Union was in existence).
The problem with judging others is it forces a false value system on everyone and everything. “They can’t be as good as I am because they don’t listen to the right kind of music,” or “They cheer for the wrong sports team/college/nation than we do. That makes us better than them.”
While all this is pertinent to the reasons why we should not judge others, it still comes down to the fact that we do not judge others because Jesus told us not to: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2). It’s pretty straight forward. We are not to judge; if we do judge, we also come under judgment. The measure we use to make our judgments will be used when we are judged. If my standards are unreasonably high against someone, then I had better hope that I am living up to those same unreasonably high standards. If I make a snap judgment without considering facts or mitigating circumstances, I shouldn’t expect anything less when it comes to judgment against me.
But Aren’t We Supposed to Notice Difference between People?
People are different; no two of us are alike. It is inevitable that we will notice the differences between us. It’s what we do with these differences that separates us from judgment and discernment. And why do we need to discern difference between people? There are several reasons.
First, shortly after giving us the directive not to judge but be discerning, Jesus warned His followers to be wary of false prophets (cf. Matthew 7:15-20). Jesus tells us that false prophets come with the appearance of belonging to the flock of believers, but they’re really wolves in sheep’s clothing. The way to discern a true prophet from a false prophet is to see the fruit they exhibit. The fruit in this case is not the number of converts they reach, but the character of the prophet, using in part the fruit of the Spirit referenced primarily in Galatians 5:22-23. John, in his first letter, also warns about these false prophets (John refers to them as “antichrists” with a lower case “a” to distinguish them from the Antichrist that is mentioned in Revelation). John says the antichrists are those who eventually fall away from the fellowship of believers. So, we need the ability to discern to stay away from false prophets and to warn others against them.
Another area of discernment is learning one’s audience. In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes, “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in the blessing” (9:19-23). Paul isn’t saying he’s sneaky or wishy-washy. What he’s saying is he learns to relate to the people with whom he’s speaking in order to break down the barriers that we tend to put up between ourselves and those different from us. It helped Paul in that he was raised a Jew and that he was a Pharisee in his beliefs. He was also raised a Roman citizen, being a citizen of Tarsus. As an apostle to the Gentiles, Paul understood those who lived under the law and those who didn’t and he understood what it was to be a devout Jew. Because of his ability to flow into and out of those situations, he became effective in sharing the gospel. He was true to his faith, but he discerned the audience and the message that would most likely resonate with them. He then acted and spoke accordingly. Hence the need to discern the audience.
Then there is the discernment necessary between believers ourselves. In Romans 14-15 and 1 Corinthians 8-10, Paul talks about the actions of Christians in areas of disagreement. Specifically, he addressed the matter of eating meat offered to idols. There were those in the church who insisted that meat offered to an idol should be refused because of the taint of the idol worship. The implication was that if a person ate such meat it could be translated as an endorsement of that idol. Others in the believers’ community thought that meat was meat, and that a good ribeye has no affiliation with any idol, regardless of how that ribeye came to be on a person’s plate. Paul sides with the latter group, but he warns that the strong Christian must take into account the needs of the weaker brothers and sisters in Christ in the actions that the stronger believer takes.
When I was in seminary, someone told of an evangelistic crusade taking place in one of the major cities in the deep South. The evangelist was a Baptist from England who had traveled to that city to lead in the crusade, which was sponsored by several of the area Baptist organizations and churches. The story was that the evangelist and a group of the leading Baptist pastors went out to lunch at a nice restaurant in the area. The waitress came to take drink orders. The English evangelist asked, “Are there any weak brothers at this table.” Of course, no self-respecting Baptist pastor of a major church would admit to weakness. Assured that he was among strong Christian believers, the evangelist turned to the waitress and said, “I’ll have a beer.” Chaos ensued. (In fairness to the pastors, they probably didn’t mind if their guest had a beer with his meal. But they understood the culture and it would only take one person seeing the evangelist drinking “the devil’s brew” to taint the whole crusade.)
The point of the story is that it’s hard to determine who is a strong Christian and who is weak. The reason we need to discern the difference is that we do not want to hinder a fellow believer’s walk with Christ.
Paul’s words are this: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:17-19). He also writes, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. . . Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall” (1 Corinthians 8:9-13).
Paul’s point is that we are free in Christ to follow Him with freedom and joy and peace, but we also need to be aware of those around us. We need to consider not just what fellow believers are struggling with, but also the eyes of the world looking at Christians through their vision of what a “true Christian” is. We cannot and must not live our lives to fit into someone else’s cubbyhole of what a real Christian is, but neither should we flaunt our freedom in the face of others without considering the ramifications of our actions. This is a cause for discernment.
Conclusion
There is always a need for wise discernment as revealed by the Holy Spirit. But there is a fine line between discernment and judgment. It is the prudent person who learns this difference and seeks always to resist the urge to judge while also learning to discern situations and people in order to know how to live and share our faith in an effective and Christ-like manner.
© 2018 Glynn Beaty