God’s Prerogative

“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.”

Matthew 7:1-2

While my husband and I were eating in a fast-food restaurant, discussing gardening plans for the afternoon, we overheard a couple at a nearby table having a heated argument. “You dumbbell,” the woman hissed, “why don’t you ever listen to me?!”

I mentally slammed down the gavel and pronounced the woman guilty. The nerve of her talking like that. However, the sentence we render on others may turn around and condemn us. For example, when Ken and I were gardening in the backyard that afternoon, I found myself getting irritated with his technique of pruning. I started to complain. I hardly had uttered a word when God stabbed my memory with the woman in the restaurant. I felt the gavel come down on me, and it hurt.

We must not judge rashly, assuming the worst in people. We cannot judge unmercifully, or with a spirit of revenge. Finally, we must not jump to conclusions and judge the hearts of others, for it is God’s prerogative to try the heart.

Yes, we ought to weigh between right and wrong. Yes, we should hold our brother accountable to scriptural standards. But judging goes far beyond discerning and carries with it an attitude of condemnation. Let Jesus be the judge of men’s hearts, and instead of rendering a sentence on others, let’s pray for them.

Judge of all hearts, I love your heart of compassion and tender mercy. Thank you that I have been judged at the cross and there is no need for me to pass condemnation on others. Help me to have a compassionate attitude toward those who need your forgiveness. Help me to pray for them rather than to pass judgment on them.