“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” (Mattew 7:1.2, NRSV)
This is probable one of the most controversial statement that Jesus had ever done. It’s so hard to not judge somebody. Life is full of dilemmas and difficulties, full of surprises and extremely fragile. I wondered often what Jesus wanted to say through his statement and the best answer i ever got is this: Don’t judge anyone ever because you don’t know the other person in the way God is knowing him or her, you don’t know his or her’s deeply deeds motivations, his or her’s story, his or her’s inner battles etc. You could judge someone only after you’ll get to know all of these things. But when you’ll get to know all of them, you wouldn’t judge him or her. Instead you’ll love him or her.
Even Jesus knew the heart of the people („But Jesus...knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.” – John 2:24.25, NRSV) he didn’t judge anyone („You judge by human standards; I judge no one.” – John 8:15, NRSV).
I had experienced for few times in my life this wonderful feeling of not judging anyone else and i can affirm that it was a feeling of great freedom and joy.
P.S. I borrowed my title from one of Henri J. M. Nouwen’s acclaimed books, Bread for the Journey: „In a world that constantly ask us to make up our minds about other people, a nonjudgmental presence seems nearly impossible. But it is one of the most beautiful fruits of a deep spiritual life.”
Let’s be in this way.