Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:15

Jesus warned us not to judge one another unless we wish to be judged ourselves. He explained that as we judge others, we’ve failed to see our own sin. Scripture says that some people try to correct others while acting innocent, but inwardly they are like ravenous wolves. (Matthew 7:15-20).

If we witness something we think isn’t right, we have to assess our own behaviors before biting into the wrongdoer like a wolf. Here’s a small example: Looking over our finances, I was concerned about what I saw as a large amount of money going into one of my husband’s hobbies.  Thankfully, in that moment, the Holy Spirit gently drew my attention to the amount of money I had recently spent on new clothes, which of course, I “needed!”  I was really glad I’d been stopped in my tracks before opening my mouth!

“In judging of others, said Thomas a Kempis, “a man laboreth in vain, often erreth, easily sinneth; but in judging and examining himself he always laboreth fruitfully.”[1]  Yes, we have much to take care of in our own lives.  Observations about the morality of others should most often be kept to ourselves. If we think that someone with whom we have mutual trust has sinned, the Apostle Paul suggests that we adopt the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:15) as we make a judgement and details in Matthew 18:15 how to go about sharing that, first in private, and then with another person.

 

Resource reading: Galatians 6:1-9

[1] Wellman, Jack. “25 Quotes about Judging.” ChristianQuotes.info, 22 Dec. 2015, www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-topic/quotes-about-judging/.