24 February | Youth
«Do not judge, or you too will be judged.» Matthew 7:1
The ability to judge with balance and fairness is a gift from God; a gift that not everyone has! Judging is putting something on the scale of our perception and then making a value judgment. It is asking: Is this desirable? Is it useful? Is it good? Is it adequate? Is it beautiful and worthy of imitation? Everyone does this all the time! Experts explain that, at the age of three, we are already capable of making moral judgments; sometimes even earlier! What the Bible reproaches, therefore, is not the human capacity to judge, but the gratuitous willingness of some to do so with excessive rigor, indifference, exclusivism, or cruelty.
This becomes clear when we compare Matthew 7:1 with Luke 6:37 (NIV), which says: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Do you understand? The problem is in critical attitudes. Jesus opposed the lack of empathy, compassion and forgiveness, not the ability to evaluate what we see by applying objective criteria. The problem is what we do when we realize that something or someone is not in their ideal condition. How do we react? We can be friendly or unfriendly, compassionate or aggressive, benevolent or ruthless, patient or not. We can adopt a positive or negative attitude. It depends on us, what we believe and who we are.
It also depends on what we expect from people. For example, on a Saturday morning the preacher was absent, and those responsible for the service only realized it when it was time to start the meeting. It was an important church, with many people of high social class. Among those present, there was a pastor visiting the church that day. Someone had the idea of inviting him to preach. The person in charge rudely said no. Something, however, made him change his mind a few minutes later. He discovered that the visiting pastor was also a “doctor.” Now they asked this pastor to preach. The value judgment was made; and the decision taken.
Today is the day you should ask yourself: What criteria or preferences have guided my decisions? What are the things I value most in life and what are the things I despise or avoid? How do I usually act when something or someone is not up to my standards? Be honest with yourself and let God speak to your heart. He will teach you with wisdom and love. You do not miss out by waiting!