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Judging Others
Friday, April 25, 2025 by Rick Stockwell
Judging Others
READ Matthew 7:1-5
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
-- Matthew 7:3 (NIV)
I went to the ophthalmologist because it appeared I had a tiny piece of yarn stuck in my right eye. The doctor performed an examination and determined there was no foreign object stuck in my eye, but that I had a floater. According to the National Eye Institute, “Floaters usually happen because of normal changes in your eyes. As you age, tiny strands of your vitreous (the gel-like fluid that fills your eye) stick together and cast shadows on your retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye). Those shadows appear as floaters.”
That floater made me think of the Scripture verse for today. Whoa! I literally had a speck (or maybe a plank) in my eye. It reminded me that I need to be careful to not judge others.
- Matthew 7:1-2 – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
- Romans 2:1 – “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”
- Romans 14:4a – “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls.”
- 1 Corinthians 5:12 – “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you.”
Does this mean we are never to judge? In normal, daily interaction with others, I think the answer is, “Yes.” Are there exceptions? “Yes.” If we determine someone is breaking the law or harming others, we should judge that activity as wrong and take action. Or, if we’re sitting on a jury, and it’s certain the accused has committed a crime, we’re obligated to judge and find them guilty. Likewise, if someone in the church is doing something contrary to the teachings of Scripture, we’re obligated to point it out to them gently, one-on-one, and urge them to repent, being careful not to fall into the same trap ourselves.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
God is the judge, not us.
Prayer: Father in heaven, please help us to not judge others.
Prayer Focus: THOSE WHO ARE DIFFERENT
Rick Stockwell
Rick Stockwell is employed as an IT Program Manager, teaches Sunday school for kindergartners, is an elder at his church, has been married for thirty-five years, and has two children and five grandchildren.
Rick is also the author of two novels in his Heavenly Realms series called The Wall and The Battle. Audio, eBook and paperback versions are accessible via this link: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07HQ8G3MJ
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