Misquotedਨਮੂਨਾ

“Only God can judge us.” Have you ever heard that? Is it true? The phrase “only God can judge me” is used when people want to justify poor choices or have regret about decisions they’ve made. And there is some truth to it- God is the only one who can offer eternal judgment of our sin. He alone is the ultimate judge and standard of perfection. But can we judge each other? In Matthew 7, Jesus gives us the answer: “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 explains that judging someone else is comparable to having a log in your eye but pointing out the fact that your friend has a tiny speck in theirs. Jesus isn’t condemning us for pointing out areas where our fellow followers of Jesus can grow. He’s warning us against judging others before we check our own lives first. If someone around you claims to be trusting Jesus but isn’t living up to Jesus’ standard, it’s okay to encourage them be more like Jesus. But before you do, it’s important to look at your own life. Where are areas that you’re not measuring up? How can you change yourself and then your friends? If we’re going to judge those around us, we have to judge ourselves first.

Challenge: Who is someone you’ve been judging hypocritically? Take some time today to repent of your hypocrisy and ask God to help you see the log in your own eye before judging the speck in someone else’s.