Beloved in Christ,
Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. “ Judge not and you will not be judged, condemn not and you will not be condemned, forgive and you will be forgiven ” ( Luke 6: 36-42). Our Lord is warning his disciples against the censorious spirit of the Pharisees. God hates sin, but He has not forsaken His love of sinners. Why we should not judge others? There are three reasons as I see it. First of all, we should realize our ignorance. It is wrong on our part to think that we know every thing. There may be many facts that we may not know and it is impossible to judge rightly with out knowing enough. If we keep judging others too often, it simply shows our vanity.
It is not only our ignorance that ought to make us humble but also the consciousness of our sinfulness. A man who is conscious about ones own sins will never be quick to judge others. The best way to think best of others is to think humbly of ourselves. The illustration of the “mote” was a familiar rabbinic expression. “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eyes, but considerest not the beam that is in your own eye”. There is a common saying that the vices that we scoff at others will laugh at us within ourselves. It is not only just a magnifying glass we need, but also we need a mirror to see ourselves. This is the second reason.
We cannot judge others because we do not know enough about them. We have to look at ourselves first and humble ourselves. This is the third and most important reason why we should not judge others. We have to follow the example of our savior, who refused condemn men. Then who are we to dare to condemn others, when our master did not condemn them. If we are true disciples of our Lord, we should always be willing to redeem ourselves. May God bless you all.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. C. C. Sabu
