A friend shared a story with me about her daughter’s jobless friend who bought the latest iPhone while deep in debt.

“How stupid!” my friend reacted.

“Mom, you’re so judgmental!” her daughter contended, unnerving my friend.

Next to being called intolerant, it seems the greatest dread for the 21^st century person is to be seen as judgmental which is kind of ironic. Aren’t we being judgmental for calling other people judgmental? And aren’t we being intolerant by not tolerating their judgments? But I digress.

The command, “Judge not lest ye be judged” makes it to the shortlist of the most recognizable quotes from the Bible regardless of affiliation. Sadly, it also makes it to the shortlist of one of the most misunderstood as well. It’s become the go-to answer for people caught in less than respectable circumstances. But what does it really mean?

When Jesus admonished his listeners about judging (Mt. 7:1), it was preceded by a lot of “do not” warnings: 

• Do not be like the hypocrites in terms of praying in public. (Mt. 6:5)
• Do not look somber as the hypocrites do when fasting for all to see. (v.16)
• Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. (v.19)
• Do not worry about your life like the pagans. (v.25)

And that’s just chapter 6. Go one more chapter back and you will see more admonitions. So, in effect, Matthew 7:1 was an over-all warning to His listeners who might be doing the very things that they were condemning others for, leading Him to talk about how they (and eventually us included) were so busy viewing with their plank-covered eyes the specks in other people’s.

When Jesus commanded us not to judge lest we be judged, He didn’t mean that we should turn a blind eye to sin. He didn’t mean that we get a free pass on our wrongdoing just because we don’t point it out in others. He didn’t mean that we shut down our brain and demagnetize our moral compass. Instead, He was calling for a self-examination. “Look at yourself first! You are committing the same, if not, the greater wrong and yet you spend your time looking down your nose at others.”

 But does this mean that we let others go on doing what is clearly wrong? Of course not. Can you imagine letting a child molester, a misogynist, an embezzler, or a serial killer do their thing? Our constant and conscious self-examination should lead us to repentance and to be right before God and men. And it is from that standing that we can approach others when they do wrong not only because we have the moral ascendancy, but because we have been there. We know how it is to be in the wrong and to turn from it. It is with humility and love that we go to our erring brothers and sisters in the faith, not with an accusing finger, but with a hand to pull them up. Someday, that very hand you save might be the one pulling you up.