UNJUST JUDGMENTS

Northern Advocate, 9 July 1938, Page 12

UNJUST JUDGMENTS

The Sabbath Hour

Being a sermon preached by Rev. H. J. Tozer, M.A., in the Methodist Church, Whangarei. Text: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”—Matthew 7:1. NO command of Jesus is more familiar to us than that contained in our text, yet ft is heeded by so few. One of our common weaknesses is that we do judge our fellows, and often in a way that we would not like to be judged ourselves. It is very strange how we expect such a high standard from others, and yet are satisfied with so low a standard in our own lives. What did Jesus mean? —I hear someone saying: “But I have been given a mind, and surely I am expected to use it; therefore I can’t help coming to my own conclusions about other people!” True it is that we have been given our minds by God, and a part of life, perhaps a very big part, consists in making up our minds about other people. Every day brings us into contact with men and women whose character and lives we have to estimate in terms of moral values, and in doing this, either consciously or unconsciously we are in reality judging them: but we can do this in a way that is in line with the mind and will of Christ, or we can do it in a way that definitely violates His command. The ultimate standard for us here, as everywhere, is the Supreme Law of Love-redeem-ing love. Wrong Judgments.—The chief reason why Jesus warned His disciples and us about judging is simply this—that so often we do not know sufficient upon which to base a fair and just judgment. There are three parts to a man’s life—what he IS in himself! What he SAYS! and what he DOES. A judgment, if it is to be ultimate, must take everything into account, but wo in our judgments cannot do this. We see only the outward action, and only a very small part of them! We hear only the spoken words, and remember only the worst of them, and even then forget that we may not have completely understood what was intended. And as for the inner man, what he is in himself, his motives, desires, convictions and affections, we see nothing of this, yet

so often we judge, in the seme ot forming on so inadequate a basis, a final evaluation of a man’s life. The Master’s words simply reminds us that because there is so much that we do not know, therefore we ought not in any ultimate way to judge our fellows. Similarly, we do not know much about each other’s early environment and upbringing, and this has often a determining effect upon life’s decisions. Nor do we know what has been resisted, even when a man consciously and openly falls below his and our standard. But there was another reason why Jesus warned Hi's disciples against judging. He knew how difficult it would be for them to keep the condemning and destructive element out of their judgments! As soon as we commence to judge from purely destructive motives, not only does our redemptive influence cease, but we ourselves stand condemned in God’s sight. The Master was so certain that His, disciples could not steer entirely clear of this two-fold danger that He commanded them not to judge at all. He inferred that God alone. Who knows the real heart of man, is capable of being the true judge of man. Jesus also stated that so often where man would condemn. God would forgive. Undoubtedly the Master realised that much of what can be called the judging of one’s fellows is little more than a self-righteous justification of the person judging, and rather than see Hi's own followers reveal their inner weakness He warned them in advance. Hew many of us realise that in judging our fellows, whether for good or for ill, we arc in reality judging ourselves? And if our own lives be unworthy, then the measure of our judgment will be the measure of our own condemnation.

Conclusion.—Let us remember that no matter how much we may think we know about our fellows, our knowledge is limited, and therefore our judgment should not be final. Let us see that finality is with Gcd alone, Who knoweth the secret of every heart. If we must form a moral evaluation of our fellows, let us do it with Christian understanding and

sympathy; and may the desire to lift and redeem ever be dominant. This will lead us, while seeing the speck in our brother’s eye, not to overlook the fact of the serious blemish, in our own; and, instead of judging destructively, we will be constrained to forgive and intercede in prayer. Confession of the other fellow’s sins, so popular today, is always a terrible contradiction of the beautiful injunction: “Judge therefore yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord.” Nor is it in line with this poem: — Pray don’t find fault with the man who limps Or stumbles along the road, Unless you have worn the shoes he wears, Or struggled beneath his load. There may be tacks in hi's shoes that hurt, Though hidden away from view. Or the burden placed upon your back May cause you to stumble too! Don’t sneer at the man who’s down today, Unless you have felt the blow That caused his fall, or felt the shame That only the fallen know. You may be strong, but still the blow That was his, if dealt to you. In the self-same way, at the self-same time, Might cause you to stumble too. Don’t be too harsh with the man who sins, /. Don’t pelt him with word or stone. Unless you are sure, and doubly sure, That you have no sins of your own.