Judging Others Is a Manifestation of Pride.
Another reason we must stop judging others is that judging others hides a certain pride that we may not be necessarily aware of. The person who judges others is often motivated by the desire to show that they are better than the person they are judging.
Do Nothing Out of Vain Glory
The Word of God recommends that we do nothing out of vain glory. We must do everything as if for God and with the feelings that were in Christ. This involves a humble, obedient heart always ready to serve (Philippians 2:5-8).
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” Philippians 2:3
“Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Galatians 5:26
The prayer of the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14 is an excellent illustration of the mindset one who judges might have. The Pharisee and the tax collector went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed to himself: “O God! I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector; I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
The tax collector, on the other hand, would not even look up to heaven because he felt unworthy to be in God’s presence. The Bible says he prayed as follows: “O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
The Bible says that God did not justify the Pharisee because of the pride that animated his words. The tax collector, however, was heard because he chose to humble himself. Many people act like the Pharisee daily. They are people who judge and highlight the weaknesses, mistakes, and shortcomings of others just to draw attention to the opposite that operates in their lives.
These people use the judgment of others as a subtle way to boast. The Pharisee was certainly an upright man whose daily actions demonstrated an attachment to God. However, the fact that he succeeded in doing what God asked of him made him feel superior to others. He believed he had more merit than those who were not (yet) able to live according to the Word of God. He allowed himself to judge them in this prayer, which was supposed to be a prayer of thanksgiving.
God’s reaction to the Pharisee should allow us to realize that God is capable of discerning our true motivations no matter how we try to hide them. God is not impressed by the fact that we are outwardly excellent. He would like us to remain humble while showing love and compassion to those in difficulty, helping them with a sincere heart.
Those Who Think They Are Superior to Others.
Since birth, parents, culture, and the educational system have led us to believe that our personal worth depends on our performance, productivity, possessions, reputation, etc. This erroneous thinking system has fostered the emergence of a competitive spirit, jealousy, pride, and disdain for others. Our neighbor has become an adversary, a rival, a competitor instead of simply being a partner and a brother. This thinking system is so ingrained in us that many people feel bad about themselves when their children are not at the top of the class.
Instead of simply seeking to please God by striving to develop their potential to do the good works God has prepared for them, many only dream of doing and having better than others. They are all sick but do not realize it because this sickness is widespread. Among the symptoms of this pandemic are the lack of contentment, the desire to judge others, the desire to belittle others, the desire to be recognized and appreciated by others, and indifference to the success of others, etc.
We can eradicate this pandemic simply by adopting God’s view of human beings, regardless of their performance and possessions. We must all understand and accept that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. The Bible teaches us that we all come from God. We are therefore His resource, and He is our source. As God’s resource, we have all the attributes of God, regardless of our performance and possessions. When God looks at human beings, regardless of their performance and possessions, He sees His image and likeness, and in this, we are all the same.
In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15), the elder brother did not understand that staying with his father did not make him superior to his younger brother who had taken his share of the inheritance and squandered it by leading a debauched life. The elder brother did not understand that the father had the same love for each of his sons. This unconditional and indiscriminate love comes from the fact that both are his children. This eternal filiation made the father overlook the prodigal son’s mistakes. Whatever his errors, the fact that he was the father’s child could not change.
Likewise, no human being can lose the status of God’s resource. As God’s resource, the seven billion human beings on earth have great value in God’s eyes. Everything He values should be valued by each of us. The prodigal son’s brother did not value him because he judged him based on his actions and not on his filiation…
This text is an excerpt from the book “STOP JUDGING TO SUCCEED BETTER” written by Dominique MBOG.
We invite you to read the following article “Judging Is a Function Reserved for God.”
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