HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 190
page A188
Judging Others continued
Passing judgment on others is second nature to most of us. We see a child acting up
and condemn the parent for poor discipline. Someone speaks up for what he believes
and we instantly categorize him. The problem with judging others is that we see the person’s words and actions through a negative filter in our mind. Our perspective narrows
to include only their faults when, really, it should be broad enough to include their goodness, too. The Bible warns us against judging others. When we judge others, we assume
we know their thoughts and motives and are qualified to pronounce judgment. In reality,
only God can know a person’s heart. Before we jump to conclusions about someone, it
helps to remember hurts we’ve experienced when others wrongfully judged us. This will
broaden our perspective toward people, ridding us of the negative filter that defiles their
reputation. Seeing others as Jesus sees them, as God’s children worthy of love and kindness, will replace judgment with mercy.
How do assumptions hurt people? What is the danger in making assumptions?
• 1 S A MU E L 1 :1 2 -1 5 | As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. “Must you come here drunk?”
he demanded. . . . “Oh no, sir!” she replied, “I haven’t been drinking. . . . I was pouring out
my heart to the Lord.”
J
Sometimes an assumption presumes to know an answer before a question is asked.
Assumptions are often unfair because they judge another person before the facts are
known.
• J O B 1 1 :1 3 -1 4 | “If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in
prayer! Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you.”
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Sometimes an assumption asks the right question but jumps too quickly to the wrong
answer. In this case, Job’s friends couldn’t explain why Job was suffering, so they assumed
he had sinned and brought God’s punishment on himself. They were asking the right question—why?—but coming up with the wrong answer.
• I SA I A H 5 5 :8 | “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways
are far beyond anything you could imagine.”
Our natural assumptions rarely align themselves with the way God thinks. If you want to
understand how God acts, you must work to understand how he thinks.
• G E NE S I S 4 3 :1 8 | The brothers were terrified when they saw that they were being taken
into Joseph’s house. “It’s because of the money someone put in our sacks last time we
were here,” they said. “He plans to pretend that we stole it. Then he will seize us, make us
slaves, and take our donkeys.”
• 2 S A MU E L 1 0 :3 | The Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really
think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out
the city so they can come in and conquer it!”
Fear can cause you to assume the worst about people and their intentions. If you consistently assume the worst about others, you can become suspicious and paranoid. You will
also hurt others as you try to keep away from them.
• PR O V E R B S 2 5 :8 | Don’t be in a hurry to go to court. For what will you do in the end if your
neighbor deals you a shameful defeat?
Assumptions are often made too quickly. There is an old saying, “Haste makes waste.”
When you are too quick to judge before having all the information, you make poor decisions that you later regret.
• G E NE S I S 1 8 :1 2 | So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out
woman like me enjoy such pleasure . . . ?”
Assumptions made from a human viewpoint lead to actions made only from a human
viewpoint; this can close the door to God’s miracles in your life. When you are open to the
possibilities of God working in your life, you begin to see his work around you more clearly.
God promises to work in your life, but you must see your life from his perspective or else
you will be blind to what he is doing in you and through you.