Too quick to judge

Robert Allan March 01, 2025 6 5

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Luke 6: 37-38 (NRSVA)

37 ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’

I remember clearly watching Britain’s Got Talent one year on the television, a show where the weird and wonderful appear, all hoping to make the stage for a Royal performance and earn a good few quid in the process. On stepped 47-year-old Susan Boyle, a robust figure who strutted onto the stage, declaring that she wanted to be a professional singer but had never been given the chance. The judges’ faces said it all, there were probably few in the audience who gave her any credibility, and admittedly me amongst them as I watched. Then she sang “I dreamed a dream” from Les Miserables and brought the house down. Never judge a book by its cover. She went on to do her singing and make a name for herself, well done Susan.

Jesus cautions us that the judgment we give will be the judgment we get, and the measure we give will be the measure we get. So, if we are going to make judgment calls, if we are going to give opinions, then we need to make sure our own house is in order. There is an old saying that “when we point the finger, remember three fingers are pointing back at ourselves.”

Prayer:

Loving God, we thank you for sending Jesus into the world, not to be our judge, but to be our Saviour. Save us from rushing to judge, instead let your love open our minds and hearts to new possibilities. Amen.