Holy Boldness

There are steps to entering into a place of judgment with someone else. That process begins with dealing with oneself. “Hypocrite, first, get the log out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 6:5) The person who tends toward criticism of others is often in much more serious circumstances than the person they are presuming to criticize. The log is contrasted with a speck suggesting that judgmental people are often in serious violation of the most basic principles of proper conduct while judging others whose issues are relatively minor. The image Jesus uses is exaggerated for effect but the point is that judgmental people are typically completely oblivious to their own personal issues. When people are quick to judge it reveals a lack of the fear of the Lord . The fear of the Lord creates a deep personal sensitivity to God’s approval or disapproval of not just actions but also thoughts and moti vations. This is why the fear of the Lord prohibits and delivers people from the propensity to pass premature judgment on others. Paul warned, “Judge no man before the time but wait until the Lord comes who will… bring to light the things hidden in darkness…” (1 Corinthians 4:5) Judgmental people are often the blindest and most insensitive people to deal with. Judgmentalism leads to a terrible lack of self-aware ness. Judgmental people and churches are often toxic and unapproach able and make them a hindrance rather than a help to the true work of God. Unfortunately, they are also often the first ones who talk about the fear of the Lord and “holiness .” But it is obvious that they have completely misunderstood what these terms mean. Judgmental people often have a small category of rules that they judge people about while neglecting far more significant areas of concern. Jesus scolded the religious leaders on this very point: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (Matthew 23:23) Judgmental people major on minors. They pick one or two laws and build their entire religious system on adherence to these often insignificant criteria. Then they judge everyone else within those narrow The anatomy of misguided judgment

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