Things I am learning : Judge not

Matthew 7:1-2  Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2“For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

 That simple statement gets quoted and misquoted so much.  It makes me cringe to hear it.  But what does judge/judging mean?

Life seemed so black and white when I was oh.so.much.younger.  There was right and there was wrong.  As the years passed and I added experience upon experience, the quotes and proverbs and Proverbs began to take on a meaning much deeper.  

I have learned:

Only God can see our hearts. Only God can truly KNOW our motives.  Sometimes even we can be blinded by our motives.  We can package them up and they look good.  It is so important to ask, what is my motive?  What is it that I hope to accomplish by...
Jeremiah puts it well, chapter 17 verse 9
"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?  

and

"None of us can stand other people having the same faults as ourselves." (Oscar Wilde)

"it is easier to see other people's faults—than our own." (J.R. Miller)

and 

Many, many years ago my school teachers were writing proverbs, quotes and sayings on the board each day or week, whatever was their preference. One stands out in my memory, "What annoys us in other people is often something we ourselves do."  

Believe it or not, I have found this to be very true.  The same principle can be found in Scripture.  In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan wisely tells David a story.  A story that enrages David.  He can't believe what he is hearing and demands to know the name of the man who has committed the offense.  It is only then, that Nathan reveals the story is about David himself.  

Many have heard the Scripture about tending to the log in one's own eye, instead of the splinter in another's eye. Matthew 7:3  "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

I reached a point this past year, where I questioned what is this thing "judge"?  Because we are all constantly making judgements every day.  So if we aren't to judge, what exactly does it mean to judge?  So, I went to the dictionary, a variety of them.  I learned that judgement has to do with condemnation.  In of itself, when judgement is passed there is a 'sentencing', a condemnation that follows.  So we are not to judge, because to judge means a passing of sentence, condemnation.  Yet we do that when we judge an apple to be rotten and toss it in the trash or compost.  It is an apple though.  People, that is another story.  We are not able to condemn and sentence, for if we do that then the measure we will use will be used on us.  We condemn, when we believe someone unworthy of... (fill in the blank).  Yet, that doesn't mean there is a free for all.  There are definitive rights and wrongs.  There are just some  things that are black and white.  This is when a new word entered the scene. Discernment.  Discernment means to recognize or perceive.  It uses the senses.  There is an analysis.  A seeing and/or understanding of differences.  In Matthew 10:16, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.  This instruction is about discernment.  We can understand and perceive the difference between right and wrong. We can discern how a person lives their lives and how well it represents their stated beliefs.  BUT what God does not want us to do, is to put ourselves in His place. We don't get to evaluate and judge motives and hearts, the hidden places of a person.  We don't get to decide where a person spends eternity.  And, maybe, they are not representing their stated beliefs very well, but that is on them, the real question is the one we should each be asking ourselves, "Am I living in such a way that I am representing my stated beliefs well?  Are the choices I am making in line with my stated beliefs?"  I can be discerning without being judgmental.  No matter what, God sees the hidden areas of each heart, mind and soul and He knows every true motive.