I ran across a post on social media today that read, “Judging a person does not define who they are, it defines who you are,” When I was a boy, I was told that when you point a finger at someone there are three fingers pointing back at you. Does that mean we are never to point out when someone is wrong?
Every non-believer, including atheists, know two words of scripture, “judge not”. Every time a
Christian disagrees with their actions or lifestyle they beat them over the head with those two words of scripture. There is a cartoon showing a transexual pointing at someone and saying, “Who are you to judge me?” The other person replies “You identify as a woman and I identify as a judge.” Getting even more complicated isn’t it?
Let’s simplify things a little. Read the entire seventh chapter of Matthew. Jesus tells us not to judge others unless we are willing to be judged by the same standard. Jesus also tells us to identify good people from bad people by their actions (fruit) not by their words. Whatever we do we must do it with love.
I have used this example before but it is applicable here. You are in a burning building with a crowd of people. You know the only safe exit but everyone else is trying to find an exit toward the fire. Is it judging them to point out their error and show them the safe way out of the building? Of course not. It is an act of love. If you think it is loving to accept their wrong actions, you could be loving them all the way into the fires of hell.