One of most commonly ignored commands of Jesus originated in his Sermon of the Mount. Matthew 7:1-2 (NLT) records it: "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged."
Jesus reveals a spiritual warning worth paying attention to. When you evaluate someone’s intentions, motives, performance, or value, you potentially ratchet up the performance benchmark for yourself. As Jesus put it, “the standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged”.
Now I don’t know about you, but I’m the first to admit my need of mercy from the Judge of the Universe. I’m well aware of my imperfections and weaknesses, and know that without heaps of grace from God, I’m in real trouble. So it’s enormously helpful to be warned of what could diminish God’s amazing grace in our lives: When we judge others harshly, unfairly, ignorantly, God judges us in the same manner.
In spite of this clear word from Christ, most Christians seem to love playing judge. In their book Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity, authors David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons share research suggesting the vast majority of people outside the church believe most Christians to be very judgmental. So believers who habitually judge others are not only making it harder for themselves in terms of experiencing the grace of God, but they’re also giving a bad impression of what Christ followers should be about.
