Matthew 7:1

"Judge not, that you be not judged."

Reflection

The Lord Jesus’ words tell us that God hates man’s judgment. However, in our association with others, we often judge other people in spite of ourselves. When we act in this way, we don’t seek God’s will, nor do we know God’s attitude toward this person. We just blindly follow our notions and imaginations to judge others, thus being detested by God. The Bible recorded the story of Job and his three friends, which provides us with food for thought.

Job feared God. Although he didn’t understand God’s will in times of trial, he didn’t sin with his lips but pondered and sought God’s will in the quiet of God’s presence. Therefore, when he was besieged by Satan, he could hold fast his integrity—fearing God and shunning evil—and bore a beautiful and resounding testimony for him to shame and defeat Satan, and received God’s praise.

Job’s three friends were familiar with spiritual doctrines. However, during Job’s trial, they had no reverence toward God but judged and attacked Job by saying that Job had offended God and thus God disciplined him. They looked at things on the surface and did not seek God’s will at all but made arbitrary judgments and conclusions about God testing Job. Therefore, God became angry with them and asked them to go to Job and offer up for themselves a burnt offering; and God forgave them after Job prayed for them.

The story of Job and his three friends tells us that if we want to avoid making arbitrary judgments about the people, matters, and things we personally encounter, we should seek to walk the way of fearing God and shunning evil like Job. We must pray and seek God’s will in all things and accept His observation. Do not sin with our lips, do not judge things we don’t understand, do not say things that do not contribute to other people. Everything we say and do should be just and honorable. We should have a heart that reveres God in our dealings with others. When we put these into practice, we will guard our hearts and live before God at all times.

Extended Reading:

4 Tips for Christians to Get Along With People and Build a Good Relationship