“Only God Can Judge Me.” — “False, I have already judged you.”
Whether it’s a poorly done tattoo, rap song, or finale to a lame argument, saying: “Only God Can Judge Me” is a falsehood.
Literally EVERYONE can judge you………and probably already have.
Now, I’m not going to say that God won’t judge you, because He most certainly will. Trying to limit the judgement to just God is a bit of a stretch though. Our sermon yesterday, April 7, 2019 (click here) walks through Jesus’ teaching on this very concept. Where I land on this idea, found in Matthew 7: 1 – 5, is right along side the Golden Rule (Matthew 7: 12).
Do to others as you want done to you. That is the summation of the Golden Rule and the standard we are given on judging. Go ahead and judge. By all means be mean. If you want to be unfair and partial, have at it. (Pro tip here: DON’T really do these things, I’m speaking in conjecture and hyperbole).
So yes, we are given permission to do those ugly things to other people. But remember, yes remember that everything that we dish out we will receive in the same measure. Can you imagine how it might feel to have God lay on us the level of forgiveness, mercy, and compassion that we have laid upon others? Yikes. Double-yikes.
If we want only God to judge us, then we must not judge others. Period. Seeing as how that is impossible, we must begin adjusting our eyes and hearts towards our fellow humans. In other words, we must act like Christ. The standards we set for ourselves must be worthy of the name we bear as Christians.
Change our names or change our conduct.
Matthew 7:1 – 5 1“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.2For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
3“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?4How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?5Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.