Self-righteously judging others is not right. In fact, Jesus tells us not to judge others. Jesus says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).
There are great dangers involved when we self-righteously judge others. In this article, we are going to find out why sin is used to self-righteously judge others.
What Does the Bible Say about Judging Others?
As Christians, we should never judge others. Jesus teaches us immensely about the dangers of judging others. The Lord tells us, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2).
Jesus later goes on to tell us that we should first clean out the speck in our own eye before we try to remove the speck from our brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5). In this way, Jesus is telling us not to judge others.
Many people try to claim they are “self-righteously” judging others, but a person cannot judge self-righteously without sin being involved. We are all sinners as we are born into sin and we all freely commit sins throughout our lives (Romans 3:23).
Due to this reason, sin will always be in us until we are with Jesus. This means that we need to remember that any of our actions could become sinful quickly with the wrong motive. Often when we think we are judging others, we are doing it in love to help point the person back to Christ.
However, if we are honest with ourselves, we can quickly see that our motives may not be 100% pure. Judging others is not good to do. Sin can easily be the reason why we judge others. Self-righteously judging others comes from pride.
The Bible tells us pride is a sin (Proverbs 8:13, 18:12; 1 John 2:16). The original sin was rooted in pride, which ultimately caused disobedience to God. Pride is a common sin for us to fall into due to it being the original sin.
The sin of pride causes us to be obsessed over ourselves, our successes, and our achievements. Pride makes us believe that we are better than others and at times, even better than God.
When we self-righteously judge others, pride is normally in the picture. We think we are helping someone, but most times, our “help” is actually self-righteously judging others.
Be Kind, Not Judgmental
As Christians, it is important for us to be kind and do everything in love (Ephesians 4:32; 1 Corinthians 6:14). When we are acting in kindness and love, we will not do harm to our neighbor.
Rather than being self-righteous, we need to extend love, mercy, and kindness. The Bible tells us the entire Law is summed up in one command, “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14).
If we love one another, we are obeying God correctly. Judging others is not done in love when it is self-righteous. Self-righteousness has a way of creeping into our bones and polluting our thoughts with pride. We have to intentionally go against these thoughts.
The good news is that we are not alone in our battle—we have the Holy Spirit’s help and guidance. The Apostle Paul tells us, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27). The Holy Spirit can help us in our difficult times and in our temptations.
When we are tempted to judge others self-righteously, it is time to step back, think, and pray. Being tempted does not mean you have to act on the temptation. Instead, God can help you overcome your temptation.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
God can help you to stop self-righteously judging others. All you have to do is ask for His help and turn to Him. Self-righteously judging others is a sin and leaves others being hurt. The Lord does not want us to hurt others.
We can help others, but we should not judge others. If we see a brother or sister in Christ who is caught in a sin, we should help them — not judge them. Judgment is almost never done in love. The only person who judges righteously is the Lord (Psalm 7:11).
It is best to leave all judgment to God. As human beings, we cannot judge others without sin being involved. For this reason, we should not judge others. Instead, we should extend Jesus’ love and offer help.
If someone we know is struggling with drug addiction, alcohol addiction, or any other sin, we should not judge them. Gossiping, speaking badly of them, and thinking less of the individual is not right. If we truly love our neighbor, we will treat them as Jesus would.
The Lord would not judge them and speak maliciously about them. Rather, the Lord would extend love, grace, and compassion. This does not mean that it is okay for the person to commit the sin because it is not.
Instead, it means that we must offer true, loving, and caring help to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling. You can help someone without judging them. Think about how you feel when someone judges you.
Most likely, it makes you feel bad about yourself, and it hurts your feelings. When you judge others, the individual you are judging is also hurt. Think about this the next time you feel like self-righteously judging another person.
There is no pride, hate, or bad intent involved when we love others as Jesus loves us. In fact, Jesus tells us we need to treat others the way we want to be treated (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). If we treat others the way we want to be treated, we are truly obeying God’s commands.
Self-righteousness has no place in a believer’s life because it is a life of pride. Judging others will only cause pain for you and others. Not to mention the fact that nobody likes a person who judges others and gossips about others behind their back.
Why Does This Matter?
No matter what a person has done, it is not our place to judge. All judgment belongs to God because He is the only righteous judge. The Lord wants you to be kind, caring, and compassionate to others, not judgmental, hateful, and prideful.
We are to be Jesus’ light to the world, not Jesus’ judges of the world. James 4:12 tells us, “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you — who are you to judge your neighbor?” Thus, do not self-righteously judge others because sin is always involved.
For further reading:
What Did Jesus Really Mean by 'Judge Not, That You Be Not Judged'?
Is Accountability the Same as Being Judgmental?
Why Do We Condemn When Jesus Came to Save?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/SIphotography
