God Motivation in Judging

Recently someone posted an anonymous comment on my entry "God Motivation and the Love of Self," frustrated that I was judging Ray Boltz for entering into the gay lifestyle. It seemed good to think through the subject a bit more.

A favorite verse of the public seems to be Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that you be not judged." Sometimes it is quoted contextually, oftentimes not. Jesus made this statement to direct people toward self-examination before correcting someone else. Another statement of Jesus that is not repeated nearly as often is, "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment" (John 7:24). Here, Jesus was challenging the religious authorities for condemning him after a good work he did on the Sabbath while they were fine with performing ritualistic acts of the law on the same day.

In reality, Jesus was saying almost the same thing in both instances. He was telling His audiences, "Make sure you are seeing a subject rightly before correcting someone else." His aim was not for us to cease making judgments about anything and everything (that would be a scary world!). But before we get too excited and think all we need to do is a bit of contemplation before delivering the whip, there's another factor to consider. Believe it or not, there is a standard to judge by and we're not it. It's never gone well for the human race when everyone has done what is right in his own eyes (see the book of Judges). God, as He has revealed Himself (and His desires) in the Bible, is the Standard that Jesus pointed people to and the one that we'll be judged by.

We're really not all that unfamiliar with this concept. Consider our modern-day judges. We would be (or should be) appalled if, in the courtroom, they started just giving their opinion on matters, convicting those they didn't like very well and acquitting those they were more comfortable with. No, we expect them to know well and then point to another standard, the law, and judge according to it. Neither would we expect them to duck under their desks every time an uncomfortable or controversial subject came up, declaring, "I'll not judge! I'll not judge!" We expect them to gather information, hold it up against the law, and "make a right judgment."

It is not that we are called to never judge, but that we are to consider that there is both a weight and a responsibility that comes with judgment, while understanding that more is required than simply the involvement of our own minds. And so, when I say that Ray Boltz, someone who claims to be a Bible-believing Christian, is wrong in entering into the gay lifestyle, I do it pointing toward the Standard that both he and I are called to live by. This life is not about what either he or I decide we want to make of it and/or how we want to live it, but about what God in His infinite wisdom has commanded, both for our good and His glory. Having God Motivation in judging looks to God as the Judge where we find Him grabbing our shoulders from behind to aim us in the right direction, a direction that will ultimately lead us to Him.

It seems that my anonymous friend has judged me in saying that I have judged another, but I must say that I am not sure what standard he/she has pointed me to insodoing. But I do welcome the comment nonetheless and hope that upon further thought we are both more prepared to make right judgments.

Lord God, please teach me to be motivated by You and toward You in all evaluation, whether of myself, others, the culture, or the world. Help me to make right judgments with a right heart before You.