To judge or not to judge?

We have to understand the words of Christ well when he said; “Judge not that you may not be judged. (Mt 7,1) It does not mean that we should not judge at all. In fact, in the succeeding verse of the gospel passage, he said: “For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged. And with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

What is clear is that whatever judgment we make, it should be done properly, that is to say, to judge the way Christ himself would judge persons and things. We should avoid rash judgments.

Christ, who is the pattern of our humanity and the restorer of our damaged humanity, was always judging. He could even read minds of the people. That is why he many times was moved to compassion and mercy when he saw people in some state of misery, and at other times, to anger also when he saw people bristling with self-righteousness.

In fact, in the gospel of St. John, we hear Christ saying: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge just judgment.” (7,24) It’s clear that we have to be most careful in our judgments.

Judging by appearances alone cannot capture the essential issues involved in a particular case. It will unavoidably get entangled with the non-essential elements. It will be at the mercy of the wiles of the flesh, the world and the devil himself.

We have to judge with Christ in the Holy Spirit. With respect to this point, St. Paul had this to say: “He that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” (1 Cor 2,15)

Such judgment will always be fair. It goes beyond the peripherals and appearances of things, and enters into the crux of the issue. Such judgment will always be done in the truth and charity, in justice and mercy, in fortitude and patience.

Such judgment will go beyond but not necessarily against the merely human and worldly standards and criteria. It goes much further than our legal and judicial systems. It will reflect the proper hierarchy of priorities, based on the eternal law of God.

We should not be surprised if such judgment will clash with the worldly way of judging. If we try to judge the way Christ judges, we should expect misunderstanding and conflicts.

But we should be at peace just the same. Let’s always remember what Christ said: “In the world you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16,33)

To make such judgment will obviously be a most tricky and delicate task. It requires nothing less than a living union with Christ who actually gives himself abundantly to us.

We are actually left with his word and example, with his Church and the sacraments, with the living witnesses of the many holy men and women who reflected Christ’s way of judging through the ages. We have all the resources we need to make proper judgments.

We just need to put our mind and heart in learning how to judge properly. We should constantly be with Christ in making judgment and avoid judging simply on our own estimation of things.

Learning to judge properly would require utmost humility on our part. It would urge us to practice some kind of healthy restraint and moderation. It certainly would ask us not to be afraid to suffer if judging persons and things with Christ would put us to some disadvantage.

But we have hone up our eagerness to study the doctrine of our faith and the very life of Christ himself.