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Question: Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged" (Matthew 7:1). Does this mean that if we love God we won't judge others?
Today's reading begins with one of the most misused passages of Scripture. Due to an unfortunate chapter break (complicated in this Bible reading schedule by a one-week gap since our reading of Matthew 6), we seldom read Matthew 7:1 in context. Instead, we tend to use it as a way of saying "mind your own business" to anyone whose opinion we want to silence. In context, however, the passage indicates that we are indeed to judge; we're just supposed to avoid faulty judgments. Furthermore, our judgments are to begin with self: "First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (7:5). Jesus then said, "Do not give dogs what is sacred" (v. 6). This means that we have to be able to judge what is sacred and what is not. Later, he said, "Watch out for false prophets" (v. 15), which requires that we can discern truth from falsehood. Jesus used the metaphor of fruit to help us understand how we're to judge. "By their fruit you will recognize them" (v. 20), he said. We are to judge people (including ourselves) by the quality of the fruit they produce. The kind of judging Jesus was warning against is actually found prior to 7:1 in the discussion about treasures in heaven and worry (6:19-34). The human tendency is to judge ourselves and others by appearance—by what we have and what we wear. But God judges by what we produce with what we have. And so should we.
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