A Meditation on Release from Judging Others

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged (Lk. 6:37)"


These poignant words address an attitudinal hubris to which most of us are prone.  They also reveal a 'sickness unto death' in that the one who judges will in turn be judged.

The term 'judge' is stated in the imperative and therefore means to stop at once a self-imposed behavioral mandate.  Furthermore, the word judge is from 'krino' in the Greek New Testament and it means to try someone in a judicial manner, or to divide or separate.

The one who has assumed to judge others and impose a sentence upon them little realizes that he has set the standard by which he will be sentenced.  To judge is a double-edged weapon, and the one who wields it not only seeks to mortally wound the soul of another he also inflicts upon himself the identical trauma.

The call of the incomparable Iesous is to listen with the ears of the mind, and recognize the intrinsic necessity to put down the formidable weapon of judging another person.  The commandment 'judge not' is coupled with "...and ye shall not be judged."

The inevitable consequences of judging others are set aside when one steps out of the arena of judging. The sentence that was passed upon another and oneself too escapes the tawdry dialectic of mutual condemnation or Mutual Assured Destruction (M.A.D).

Judge not and ye shall not be judged are intrinsic reality.  They relieve one of assured self harm and a myopic sense of life.   One may not pretend that these words are not real or forebode certain consequences.  The fiction of self-deception may create an illusory space for a time but the burden of the fiction will at some point implode the lie bubble.

Give your burdens to the Iesous and he will show you the way to inner peace.  Ask him today to relieve you of the need to judge others.

For more information about Dr Josiah Rich and his teachings, please visit his website.