Do Not Make a Hasty Judgment
Are you quick to make a judgment?
A couple arrived at the theater and proceeded to their seats. As they went down the aisle, they arrived at their seats only to find a man sprawled over them. The wife looked at her tickets to confirm that they are indeed at the right place, and said to the man, “Sir, you must be mistaken—these are our seats.” He barely noticed them and grunted in their general direction. She spoke louder with the same words, threatening to get the manager, but to no avail. The couple brought back the manager, who spoke to the man, “Sir, you are in the wrong seats. These seats belong to these customers. Where is your ticket?” The man grunted at the manager with no inclination of moving. The manager threatened him, “If you do not move immediately, I will call the police!” The man did not even stir. The manager left and brought back a police officer, who saw the man sprawled over the respective seats. He bent down and asked the man, “What is your problem?” Finally, the man barely whispered, “My problem is that I fell out of the balcony!”
Often times, we are quick to judge others. Jesus warns us in the Sermon on the Mount,
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (Matt. 7:1-2)
Yet, so many people misinterpret and misquote these verses. As the passage continues and the context declares, Jesus is not condemning the act of judging in and of itself, but of hypercritical judging. To state the case in point, in the verses that follow this admonition, Jesus said,
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. (Matt. 7:6)
Thus, one would have to make a call of judgment to determine who are considered dogs or swine.
Elsewhere, Jesus also declared, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). This ought to be the rule of our lives. Far too often, we are quick with our judgment based upon appearance—in such, we are not to be a “respecter of persons” (cf. James 2:1). Rather than being hasty with our judgment, we are to wait for all of the facts. Only then can we make the proper judgment. The inspired wise man Solomon declared,
He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly… Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope of a fool than of him. (Prov. 14:29; 29:20)
Be careful about how you judge!