“Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things” (Romans 2:1 NET).
As we continue on the topic of judgment from Romans 2:1, we now stop to consider another inappropriate form of judgment. That type of judgment occurs when we look down upon the less affluent, or those who appear to fall below our personal standard of living. We can turn once again to the Biblical book of James for some valuable guidance on this subject…
“Dear brothers, how can you claim that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, if you show favoritism to rich people and look down on poor people? If a man comes into your church dressed in expensive clothes and with valuable gold rings on his fingers, and at the same moment another man comes in who is poor and dressed in threadbare clothes, and you make a lot of fuss over the rich man and give him the best seat in the house and say to the poor man, ‘You can stand over there if you like or else sit on the floor’– well, judging a man by his wealth shows that you are guided by wrong motives” (James 2:1-4 TLB).
Another type of judgmental error concerns the secondary aspects of Christian life and practice. This would involve areas where Godly men and women have different (but valid) standards and beliefs. Paul the Apostle will discuss this topic at length in Romans chapter fourteen, but we can preview that section with the following excerpt…
“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters… Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand… You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat… Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way” (Romans 14:1,4,10,13 NIV).
These passages illustrate the different ways in which inappropriate judgments are formed and expressed. However, these examples differ from the act of “judging” someone who is engaged in a harmful or self-destructive behavior. If done with the proper motivation, in a spirit of humility and concern, that type of judgment might save others from serious harm.