Judgment of Others

Judgment of Others A Judgmental Character
A man said once to Mr. Dawson, "I like your sermons very much, but the aftermeetings I dislike. When the prayer meeting begins, I always go up into the gallery and look down, and I am disgusted." "Well," said Mr. Dawson, "the reason is, if you go on the top of your neighbor's house and look down his chimney to examine his fire, of course you get only smoke in your eyes."

One Talent-Bury It
Some people are like the man who said he was afraid he was going to be of no use in the world because he had only one talent. "Oh, that need not discourage you," said his pastor. "What is your talent?" "The talent of judging others, of criticism." "Well, I advise you," said his pastor, "to do with it what the man of one talent did with his, bury it. Criticism may be useful when mixed with other talents, but those whose only activity is to criticize the workers might as well be buried, talent and all."

Negative Judging
Let us not be like that man who is always quick to judge his fellowmen: If he is poor, he is a bad manager. If he is rich, he is dishonest. If he needs credit, he can't get it. If he is prosperous, everyone wants a favor from him. If he's in politics, it's for pie. If he is out of politics, you can't place him, and he's no good for his country. If he doesn't give to charity, he's stingy. If he does, it's for show. If he is actively religious, he is a hypocrite. If he takes no interest in religion, he's a hardened sinner. If he shows affection, he's a soft specimen. If he seems to care for no one, he's cold-blooded. If he dies young, there was a great future ahead of him. If he lives to an old age, he has missed his calling.

Judging Others
Many people sit in judgment on everybody. They seem to delight in imputing unworthy motives to others, and in this respect perhaps they are judging others by themselves. When they see someone working for the Lord, they'll say, "Oh, yes, George is a real saint, but he gets paid for what he does, you know." The inference is that if he weren't paid he'd not be so zealous for the Lord. It may be that the financial compensation for his work had something to do with his decision to engage in it; but it may not have been his main motive by any means. It's all too human to exaggerate the secondary motives of others. We seem to derive some sort of satisfaction in pointing out the flaws in their characters. It seems that the only way some people can build themselves up in their own eyes is by tearing others down.

Exercise Patience
The builders and decorators of a great cathedral made the mistake of admitting visitors while the work was in progress. They heard nothing but criticism. Finally they had to close the doors and admit no one but workmen. When it was all finished, the exquisiteness of the structure was universally acclaimed. The previous judgments had been premature. When we are tempted to judge people, let's recognize that just as in our own case success comes gradually as a rule, so it does to others. Let us not dishonor God by attributing ugliness to Him in any of His works in nature or humanity. He is not through yet. God is in the process of perfecting much that we see now as unfinished and imperfect. Don't judge Him prematurely for permitting the sickness, accident, deformity, and seeming injustice of this world. Wait. Exercise patience. He is still at work.

Overcoming Temptation
A man in a responsible position, entrusted with large sums of money, was tempted one day to put some of the cash into his own account. He knew that it would be a long time before his theft could be discovered. He resisted the temptation but felt that he must tell somebody the anguish of mind through which he had passed. He went, therefore, to the man who had occupied the position before him, told him all about the temptation, and how he had almost fallen. To his surprise, the man did not reprove him but put his hand on his shoulder in a fatherly sort of way. "I know exactly how you felt," he said quietly. "I went through it all myself when I occupied your position." It was, of course, humiliating for both of these men to admit the temptation of the heart, although it did not result in a crime. Realizing that whatever victories we score, we do so merely by the grace of God, how hesitant we should be to criticize others who may have allowed sins of the thought and will to materialize a little more than we have ourselves. Let us not, therefore, speak evil of our brethren, even in our minds, even to ourselves.

Judgment of Brethren
Many critical Christians are like that Persian youth who was very meticulous about his religious duties. He would rise up in the middle of the night to watch, pray, and read the Koran. One night as he was engaged in these exercises his father, a man of practical virtue, awoke while his son was reading. "Behold," the religious youth said to his father, "thy other children are lost in irreligious slumber, while I alone wake to praise God." "Son of my soul," the wise father answered, "it is better to sleep than to awake to notice the faults of thy brothers!" If the knowledge of the sins of others arouses in us the spirit of censoriousness and criticism, confession has not accomplished its intended and hoped-for purpose.

Prejudice Is Evil
Those who speak evil of others are usually too quick to draw conclusions. If they see a man coming out of a bar, they immediately decide he must have been drinking. They lack the charitable nature that would let them consider that he may very well have gone in to distribute Christian tracts in a place where they were desperately needed, or he may have gone in to try to persuade a weaker brother to leave the place and go home. The Lord's Admonition
At the conclusion of the Civil War, when hatred and vindictiveness were rampant in the land, President Lincoln sought to stem the tide of judgment and reprisal. When Senator Sumner of Massachesetts pressed him to have Jefferson Davis summarily hanged, Lincoln twice repeated our Lord's admonition, "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1). Though he had vanquished Davis as an enemy, Lincoln refused to condemn him as a man. He chose to leave that final judgment to his Creator. No Cross Examination Allowed
There was a juvenile court judge who had a very unusual experience during the course of one of his trials. An elderly man who owned a watermelon patch had caught a boy stealing his melons and had him arrested. When the time came for the trial, the man made his complaint to the court, after which the judge turned to the boy and said, "Son, what do you have to say for yourself?" The boy looked up at the judge with questioning eyes and answered, "Judge, did you ever steal a watermelon when you were a kid?" The judge was somewhat startled at the turn of events, dropped his head into his hand for a few moments of thought, and finally responded, "No cross-examination of the court allowed. The case is dismissed."