Is It Ever Okay to Judge?

Is It Ever Okay to Judge?
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will
be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?-1
Corinthians
6:2
Is there a place for judging? Are we to judge one another, and if so, on
what basis? Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what
judgment
you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be
measured back to you" (Matthew 7:1-2). The Greek word Jesus used for "judge"
means,
"to separate, choose, select, or determine." In context, we see that Jesus
is dealing primarily with motives. You cannot judge my motives, nor can I
judge
yours. We may have an evaluation of someone, but we can't see his or her
heart.
The better translation of this statement would be, "Condemn not, that you be
not condemned." I am to make judgments and evaluations, but I am not to
condemn.
Some people are hypercritical. They are just looking for people to slip up.
They are quick to jump to conclusions. As one of my favorite preachers, the
late J. Vernon McGee, said, "The only exercise some Christians get is
jumping to conclusions and running down others."
Sometimes we are quick to jump to conclusions and quick to believe the worst
instead of the best about someone. Jesus is saying we should not do that. So
if someone says to you, "Well, doesn't the Bible say, 'Judge not, that you
be not judged'?" your response should be, "Yes, but I don't think you
understand
the meaning of that statement." The reality is that Christians are to make
judgments. A judgment is an evaluation, and we make them every day.
We are not in a position to see a person's heart, and we are not in a
position to bring final judgment on someone. Our objective is to never to
condemn
and put down; it is to help and restore.
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