Many of us have been taught that, as believers, we are not to judge lest we be judged.  The inference is that judging others is always wrong.  If we don’t want to find ourselves judged, we should not judge anyone else.  Ever.

It almost seems right, but it is a twisting of the truth, and it is little sound-bites like these that often hold us captive, leading us to believe that we have no right to scrutinize others’ character or to identify wicked people among us, particularly those who claim to be fellow believers.   Are we really called to accommodate the wicked living in our homes and serving in our churches for fear of being deemed judgmental?

Let’s take a closer look at what Jesus said:

“Do not judge lest you be judged.  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. And 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? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”  Matthew 7:1-5 (emphasis added)

Here our Lord makes it clear that, as we scrutinize the character of those around us, it is understood that we hold ourselves to the same standard.  Our standard of judgment should be consistent, not non-existent.

This is common sense.  Yet there are those who judge using a double standard – one for themselves and one for others, and clearly this was an issue in Jesus’ day as well.

Jesus is calling out those who make a habit of identifying the tiniest speck of imperfection in others while refusing to acknowledge the glaring shortcomings in their own life.  He is saying that the one who judges should refrain from pronouncing a judgment on others until he has owned his own failures.  Jesus doesn’t mince words, but calls those who use a double standard “hypocrites.”

Other letter-writers in Scripture did not hesitate to judge when the occasion called for it.  The Apostle Paul wrote:

“Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.  For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.” Philippians 3:17-19

Paul also wrote:

“…realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers [verbal abusers], disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (descriptor and emphasis added)

There are people in our midst who present themselves as believers, but they are not, and they should be identified and avoided.  How do we identify such people if we are forbidden from assessing their behavior or their character?

The Apostle John was not shy about identifying one particular pretender by name.  John is not afraid to reveal the man for his attitudes and actions – even publicly:

 “I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church.”  3 John 1:9-10

Furthermore, the writer of Hebrews makes it clear that maturity should naturally incur discernment, which we should expect to exercise.

“For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”  Hebrews 6:13-14 (emphasis added)

Closing our eyes to hypocrisy and injustice under the premise of “not being judgmental” is foolish – akin to shielding our eyes from the white elephant in the room.  It is right to judge when judgment is balanced and consistent.  And to be blunt, if we are to identify abuse, we must be willing to identify the one inflicting it.

My former husband was a double-standard kind of guy.  He could pronounce a harsh judgment against me while exempting himself entirely from his own impossible standard.  He weighed me down with expectations of perfection while lying to me, raging at me, stealing money from our bank account, using pornography, and dating other women.  But if I confronted him about any of his moral offenses, he would incite me for daring to judge him, for somehow being less than a God-honoring, trusting, forgiving wife, for believing for one minute that I had any right to point out his failings because I wasn’t perfect.

He held me to a very different standard than the one to which he held himself.  He insisted that I was not allowed to point out the splinter in his eye because, according to him, I hadn’t addressed the log in my own.

That’s ridiculous.  We are called to judge righteously – not to deny wickedness to try to create an image of goodness, but to identify unrighteousness according to what we know is right and true.  And yes, we know that lying, cursing, raging, stealing, adulterous behavior and a whole host of other things should be unacceptable in a relationship where there should be a strong foundation of mutual care and trust.  That’s just common sense.

So we are free – and indeed called – to judge rightly, using a measure consistent with God’s heart for righteousness and truth.  Conversely, it is foolish and wrong to accommodate evil simply to try to appear righteous.

“He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.”  Proverbs 17:15

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