Judge? . . . Or Judge Not?
We judge every day. Judgment is automatic and unavoidable, even necessary. It can also be toxic, causing deep pain, leading to out-of-control anger, and destroying relationships. The only way to avoid the evil-for-evil cycles of judgment and maintain harmony in your relationships by learning from the Bible how to distinguish between judgment that is good and judgment that is deadly.
We need to make daily judgments of what is acceptable or not, safe or dangerous, encouraging or destructive, and so forth. Our judgments help us avoid harm and determine our well-being.
However, when we cross the line and judge when judgment is not our responsibility, it can lead to uncontrollable anger, destruction of relationship, and rob us of joy and peace.
Jesus said, “Do not judge,” and “for in the way you judge you will be judged” (Matt. 7:1-2). The judgment He was talking about is very destructive.
On the other hand, Jesus said, “judge with righteous judgment” (Matt. 7:24). In essence, He told us to judge. To not judge when you need to leads to trouble.
Likewise, to judge wrongly leads to trouble. So, how do you know when you’re in danger of trouble?
The Judgment Trap explains the distinction between righteous judgment and destructive judgment.
Download your free copy of The Judgment Trap by Kay Camenisch.