“Burning my Black Robe”
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;” (Luke 6:37 English Standard Version)
I like to think of myself as not being very judgmental. This is true—as long as you see things the same way I do and don’t do anything that irritates me. In other words, I am very judgmental. I don’t like judgmental people. A lot of my self-dislike and self-criticism flow from my tendency to judge.
When it came to judging, Jesus had some very direct words: “Don’t do it!” Leon Morris has some good observations on vs. 37.
“Jesus’ opposition to our judging other people is put in a peremptory command, Judge not. He goes on to the consequence, you will not be judged. A similar injunction to avoid condemning follows and an instruction to forgive. In all this Jesus is not of course rejecting legal processes. He has in mind not law-courts but the all-too-common practice of assuming the right to criticize and condemn one’s neighbours. This, he says, we must not do. It is not quite clear whether you will not be judged refers to the present judgment people pass or the future judgment of God or both. If we are harsh with our judgments on other people we generally find that they return the compliment and we ourselves are widely condemned, whereas if we do not pass judgment on others our neighbours are slow to condemn us. But the words apply also to more permanent consequences. The person who judges others invites the judgment of God upon himself. It is the one with the forgiving attitude who is forgiven. This is not salvation by merit: rather the thought is that the true disciple is not judgmental. When God accepts people God’s grace changes them. A forgiving spirit is evidence that the person has been forgiven.”[1]
So, I am going to make a serious attempt over time, beginning today, to be more aware of when I feel like judging. Then, I’m going to shut my mouth and think about what would happen if God judged me the way I am inclined to judge my fellow-sinner. I’m going to burn my black judge’s robe. It never fit me well anyway.
[1]Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, TNTC 3; IVP/Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 152.
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