How to be a Bad Judge
Matthew 7:1-5
July 31, 2005
Introduction
I’m not sure what’s going on, but I can’t seem to get past this issue of judging.
At the base, I think it’s that I’m tired of people taking misperceptions about what judging is really all about and running around with error determining their views about judging and what it involves.
For the last two weeks I’ve focused on what might be called "apologetic" arguments - defending the Biblical definition of judging and why it’s not only appropriate, but really essential when it comes to evaluating people’s behavior, attitudes, opinions, beliefs, or whatever.
This week I want to continue our look at judging, and I’m going to take a different approach. I want to talk about how to be bad judges.
Huh? Wouldn’t you rather tell us how to avoid being bad judges, PB? Yup. But we explored that two weeks ago, and we’re going to touch on it more next week as we get ready to move on to the next section of Matthew 7.
But sometimes we’re better able to see the point when we look at something from the opposite angle. I think you’ll catch on as we go through the message.
But right now I’d like you to stand with me, if you’re able, and read aloud this passage from Matthew 7:1-5.
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 "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? 4 How can you say to your brother, ’Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
Next week we’re going to move on to verse 6 of this chapter, where Jesus says this -
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."
My original plan was to discuss that verse today, but I’m still wresting with it, making sure I’m understanding it correctly so we can look at just how it applies in our current times.
But today, I want us to look at 5 techniques we can use to become bad judges. If you’ve ever wanted to be a Pharisaical, hypocritical judge of people, then this is your lucky day!!
I think that as we go through each of these, you will find two things:
First, you’ll see how wonderfully easy each of these are to put into practice.
Second, you’ll find that you already might be practicing some or all of them. And if your goal is to be this kind of person, then you’re well on your way! Congratulations!
Let’s dive right in, shall we? Let’s begin by looking at the first technique you can use to become a bad judge, and that is to...
1. Develop the attitude that you’re better than others.
Especially when it comes to your spirituality. There’s nothing like being a person who thinks they have everything figured out and settled, and is no longer in need of any more spiritual growth or personal character development.
Superiority is a big thing in the world today. We hear about being the "top dog," or the "alpha male" in a pack. Women strive for this many times as well, although many times it takes place in the context of relationships outside the workplace.
But really, who doesn’t want to be on top? Who doesn’t want to be seen as the "crème of the crop," especially when it comes to "being spiritual," or being a "good Christian?"
Well, friends, you need to develop a sense of spiritual superiority. I say "develop" this attitude, because it doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes years to get really good at this.
And if you do it right, you’ll eventually get to the point where you don’t even recognize you’ve reached this point. Cool, huh?
If you haven’t begun using this important technique, then start today! You can leave this very service feeling spiritually smug and ignoring everything we’ve done here today in singing, praising God’s name, praying, and reading God’s Word.
One great way to do that is to leave every service with this thought in mind: "I hope so and so was listening today, because they really needed to hear that!"
Being spiritually superior means not having to actually listen to the pastor drone on and on about actually doing what the Bible says. Pretending to listen is just fine...
The first technique for being a bad judge is to develop the attitude that you’re better than others.
Here’s the second technique:
2. Put personal preferences above Scriptural standards.
Always determine what’s good and bad, right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable based solely on what you think.
No matter the issue, make sure that your personal preferences carry more authority than the Bible.
After all, what does God know? Surely he’s never had to deal with the people you have to deal with: pushy salespeople, lying politicians, screaming kids, stupid teenagers, and others.
If the Bible carries a different view from yours, just chalk it up to the Bible being "outdated" and stale.
Does God REALLY expect you allow Christians freedom in areas where the Bible is silent?
And does God REALLY expect you to follow his commands given during a time when they didn’t have such things as motor vehicles, airplanes, computers, and indoor plumbing?
Certainly not!
And for crying out loud, God certainly would agree with you regarding what’s "acceptable" to wear to church or what’s not, right?
And the same with music, reading materials, and just about anything else you can think of.
This goes back to our first technique - being spiritually superior to others. Because spiritually superior people are always right about everything, especially when it comes to opinions about anything and everything.
So when it comes to judging things like clothing styles, just use your personal preference. When it comes to judging musical styles, just use your personal preference.
When it comes to living your own life, just let your own preferences guide your step.
Remember, ALWAYS put personal preference over Scriptural standards. That’s a good technique for being a bad judge.
Moving on, we find that the third technique for being a bad judge is to...
3. Constantly criticize and nit-pick other people’s faults.
Second only to the technique of putting personal preference over Scriptural standards, this technique is probably the easiest to put into practice right away.
When personal preference is your guide for everything, then it’s easy to criticize whatever doesn’t measure up, right? Right!
This is especially effective when the people aren’t around to hear and defend themselves, and if you are talking "privately" to a group of like-minded people.
And you know what? The best way to do this and really look spiritual is to dress up your criticism as a "prayer request." This is really handy!
Let me give you an example: You can call some of your good friends, who of course share your opinion on these things (or they wouldn’t be your friends, right? Right!) and you say something like this -
"We really need to pray for Sophie Schwartz - she obviously needs to get a good-paying job; just look at the rags she wears to church each week. But of course, that means putting those brats of hers in daycare, which would probably be good for them anyway, since they obviously don’t know how to act around other people."
And your friends, being the "spiritual" people they are, are happy to pass that request down the "prayer chain."
Oh, and don’t forget to pay special attention to things that are outside someone’s control - you know, things like their skin color, their parents, their health, or their inability to escape an abusive situation. These are easy targets that make great fodder for criticism and fault-finding.
Another great use for this technique is to spread unsubstantiated rumors about other Christians and church leaders. Nothing like a few "prayer concerns" to get the rumor mill going and build dissension within the Church!
Who cares that that Church is the bride of Christ? As long as you get your way, that’s all that counts, no matter the cost.
And there’s one more great benefit of using this technique. It’s a great way to get people to not see your own shortcomings.
When people are looking at the faults of others that you’ve pointed out, they’re too busy to see where you fall short. Whew!
Doing this helps you avoid that whole "plank" think Jesus talked about being in your own eye. How handy is that?!!
So what are the three techniques for being a bad judge we’ve looked at so far?
- Develop the attitude that you’re better than others.
- Put personal preferences above Scriptural standards.
- Constantly criticize and nit-pick other people’s faults.
Well, let’s move on, shall we to the fourth technique for becoming a bad judge, and here it is:
4. When others point out faults in you, accuse them being "unspiritual."
After all, you’re the measure of maturity, right? So why listen to anything anyone has to say about you?
This is especially handy when they accuse you of being a gossip or a nit-picker.
When confronted by someone who feels they have some sort of "concern" they need to discuss with you, simply answer with something like this:
"Obviously you don’t know the whole story, and who are you to judge me? You’d better go back and study the Scriptures some more and do some real praying! In the meantime, I’ll be praying for you to get over this judgmental attitude that controls you."
This works for every situation! It leaves people frustrated and in many cases, wondering if they really did miss the boat spiritually. And that’s a great feeling.
We need to move quickly to this last technique, because it’s probably the most important one. Ready?
5. Whatever you do, don’t take the "antidote."
The spiritually inferior among you not only want to point out where you need to "grow" spiritually, they’re also very quick to tell you just how it should be done, and they offer what they would describe as an "antidote."
It would be just easier to not even address this, because chances are that if you’re effective in using the first four techniques, you won’t need this last one.
But at the same time, I would rather tell you about it up front so you can be prepared to meet the challenge instead of accidentally stumbling on it, getting confused, and end up accidentally taking the antidote. Okay?
The antidote has four main parts, and it’s important that you’re able to recognize each one:
* Humility before God.
Someone is sure to point out this verse found from 1 Peter -
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Yeah right - we’ve already talked about the fact that you’re the spiritually superior one, not some antiquated "God" who has no clue that life was designed to be enjoyed at all costs.
So whatever you do, don’t do this. It’s very dangerous to your position of being a bad judge. The second portion of the antidote is...
* Submission to the Bible as the final authority.
As if that verse in 1 Peter wasn’t bad enough, then someone has the audacity to bring up 2 Timothy 3:16-17 -
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Puh-lease! Scripture might be "God-breathed," but that doesn’t mean I like Him breathing on ME!
Remember, personal preference is ALWAYS more authoritative than the Bible.
So be quick to dismiss this part of the antidote.
The third main part is...
* Accountability to other believers.
These people are very quick to point to Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) -
As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend.
They feel that if they can get you around other people who are actually serious about living for Jesus, then you’ll be closer to being "Christlike," or something stupid like that.
You need to avoid these people like the plague they are.
Here’s the last part of the antidote you need to know about, and if you forget anything else I’ve told you about avoiding the antidote, then please remember this part.
* Practicing the "spiritual disciplines."
* Bible reading and prayer.
* Fasting.
* Giving to the poor.
* Corporate worship (church).
* Fellowship.
I think it’s safe to say that avoiding these things at all costs will be to your benefit in becoming a bad judge.
So what is the result of ignoring this technique?
You open yourself up to something that being a bad judge prevents you from getting - wisdom. By not avoiding this antidote, you gain wisdom.
Wisdom according to whom, you might ask? God! But we’ve already established that his opinion isn’t important when it gets in the way of our own enjoyment of life, right? Right!
When you’re humble before God and others, seeking God in the Word, prayer, church, or whatever, you become a vessel God can transform and use for his kingdom.
And who wants that? I mean, really?
And don’t fool yourself into thinking that one dose of the antidote will do it. You’ll need to be taking this the rest of your life.
So you see the need to stay as far away from this as possible.
Quick review: to be a bad judge, you need to:
- Develop the attitude that you’re better than others.
- Put personal preferences above Scriptural standards.
- Constantly criticize and nit-pick other people’s faults.
- When others point out faults in you, accuse them being "unspiritual." And then..
- Whatever you do, don’t take the "antidote."
By the way, all of the materials discussed today, as well as the full catalog of materials designed to help you be your own person who is able to cloak themselves with "spirituality," is available through The Beelzebub Personal Management Company.
Conclusion
I hope that by now it’s very obvious that I’m talking with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. Figuratively, because it’s very hard to talk like this....)
Folks, this is what Jesus was addressing when he said to not judge. He wasn’t saying to never judge, because that would be a contradiction to other words of his that specifically discuss making good judgments about people, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and what have you.
I said at the beginning of the message that not only would you find these techniques easy to use, but that you might find yourself using some or all of them already.
Truth be told, I’ve been there a few times, and I’m ashamed to admit it. But it’s true, nonetheless.
And I’m fairly confident that I’m not the only one here.
So here’s where the challenge comes:
The challenge:
1. Ask God to examine your heart.
Psalm 139:23-24 (God’s Word) -
Examine me, O God, and know my mind. Test me, and know my thoughts. See whether I am on an evil path. Then lead me on the everlasting path.
2. Restore relationships damaged by your judging.
This is probably the toughest part, because it involves that humility before God I talked about earlier, and it involves being humble before someone else that you may have previously thought you were spiritually superior to before.
But are you willing? If you’re willing, then God can do his work. He’s done it in me, and I’ve had to apologize to people, some of whom are in this room today.
If you’re willing to do this, then you can become the type of person whom, when faced with a situation in which judgment is called for, can do it with wisdom from the Scriptures and with a healthy dose of grace. And believe me, the church of Jesus can sure use more people like that, amen? Let’s pray.
