judging

Is there such a thing as a better person by God's standards? How does God judge us? Why should we be judged by Him? Should we judge other people?

Many Christians say that we should not judge people. But by saying that, aren't they judging us? The Bible says that we should not judge others:

Matthew 7:1-5 (NIV)
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
“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? 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? 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."

Nevertheless, Jesus judged too:

In Luke 11:37-52, Jesus, the person who tells us to love each other, pronounces six woes on the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. Jesus was technically saying that they are in a very bad and grievous state. Jesus here liken these self-righteous religious leaders to bowls which are clean on the outside and dirty on the inside, unwashed tombstones and the people who kill the prophets and then decorate their tombstones later. In other words, Jesus is pronouncing that he has judged them and found them wanting, they being hypocrites who do one thing and exalting themselves in public on their perceived righteousness while sinning in private.

Now, is this fair just because Jesus is God?

Basically, Jesus is not saying that you cannot judge others. However, like in Matthew 7:1-5 above, before you want to judge others, you have to remove the plank in your eye first. Furthermore in Romans 2:20-23, if you want to judge others, you must apply the same standard to yourself. In fact, at the end of the day, God will also judge us according to the standard that we judge others.

So no double standards, and if you want to judge others, wash your eyes first, stare at yourself in the mirror and then apply the same standard that you use to judge yourself, that's if you even spend time judging yourself. :p

Actually, this post serves to remind me not to judge others. Hope I always remember that! :)