Warning Against Judging Others

" Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor?" (James 4:11-12, NIV).

The first statement in this admonition from James might be translated: "Do not speak evil of one another" or "do not disparage one another." Disparage was a word that meant to de-rank, or to lower in rank or reputation, even to marry below one's class; to depreciate or to degrade. In James' day, the Christians still thought highly of and sought to live by the Jewish law. He reminded his readers (hearers) that there is only one Lawgiver and Judge. Everyone reading this would know immediately that James meant God, "the One who can save and destroy." Therefore, who are they to pass judgment on a neighbor, or to speak out against the law? Slander was regarded by the Jews as a very serious sin, although their law did not say specifically: "Thou shalt not slander." Anyone who slandered-brought false charges against, made false statements about, or defamed the character of -another was claiming for himself the function of the law. Here James is again sounding a warning as Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus warned about the seriousness of taking the law into one's own hands and judging others: "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 you (sic) brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5). We need to nail down the concept of receiving the same judgment as that with which we judge. Most of us must admit to having a plank in our own eyes. We are hardly qualified at all to judge others lest we be met with more severe judgment.

Eugene Peterson in The Message Bible stated these verses plainly and in every-day language which we can easily understand: "Don't bad-mouth each other, friends. It's God's Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You're supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?" (James 1:7-10). Unfortunately, we have strong tendencies to judge. Shall I saw we even like to judge? But let us remember what we say in the Disciple's (known as the Lord's) Prayer: "Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever." God alone has the power to judge. Our role is to help others, not to judge, to witness to, not to criticize; to love, not to condemn. Can we measure up?

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, October 23, 2010