“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.“ — Deuteronomy 16:18

Errors in judgment are a frequent cause of downfall. Since the spiritual person judges all things, we must judge with discernment and avoid making mistakes in our judgments. We must also refuse to show favoritism.

“But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.“ — James 2:9

God pays special attention to this matter. The book of Proverbs tells us that it is not good to show partiality, for instance, favoring the wicked to the detriment of the righteous in judgment (Proverbs 18:5, 24:23). But the law also says:

“You shall do no injustice in judgment: you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.“ — Leviticus 19:15

“You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be afraid of any man, for the judgment is God’s…“ — Deuteronomy 1:17

One of the most difficult emotions for human beings to endure is the feeling of injustice. When someone suffers injustice, they are often tempted to embrace the poison of rebellion. We must be especially careful to use the same scale and the same weights in our dealings with others. Let us remember that dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord.

“You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just ephah, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.“ — Deuteronomy 25:15

A spiritual leader must be completely fair to everyone. He must not refuse to listen to the poor, nor approach the rich to receive favors from them. He must be the same with everyone and apply to all the rules he has set for himself. We must be careful not to judge people based on our affinities or family ties. We cannot turn a blind eye and ignore what must be corrected.

This was the mistake of the priest Eli: he did not correct his sons for their serious sins because they were his sons. He used a different scale than the one he usually applied. When Hannah was murmuring her prayers, he assumed she was drunk and rebuked her harshly:

“How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine!“ — 1 Samuel 1:14

But with his own sons, it was a different matter: though he knew they were stealing offerings and sleeping with the women who gathered at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, he did not correct them—even though he knew what should be done to those who acted in such a way!

Instead, he allowed his sons to continue “serving God,” thereby becoming a source of scandal among God’s people. Then, a prophet came to him and announced divine judgment upon him, his family, and his sons. A short time later, his two sons, his daughter-in-law, and he himself all died on the same day (1 Samuel 4)…

This text is an excerpt from the book Walk in Love 2 written by Jérémy Sourdril.

We invite you to read the following article: “WORKING AMONG CHRISTIANS“.

ERRORS IN JUDGMENT. ERRORS IN JUDGMENT. ERRORS IN JUDGMENT.