I can't judge only God can

Have you ever noticed people using the words “I can’t judge only God can”? And then proceed with the words, “And I bet He wouldn’t approve of…”fill in the blank here (I’ve heard it all). Seems to me when people use this tactic, they are putting words and thoughts into Jesus’ mouth. I recently came across such a statement, and it actually angered me. Could it be my toes were stepped on? I suppose it could have. However, my faith and relationship with God is strong enough that what this person was not judging me about didn’t affect me.

The part of the diatribe which bothered me was putting words into Jesus’ mouth. Claiming to know how Jesus would respond to a sinner or to a particular sin is absurd. You don’t know because you do not possess the magnitude of grace and love that Jesus does. You don’t know because you can’t comprehend the intricacies of another person’s PERSONAL relationship with God. I believe we are told not to judge because we don’t even have the capabilities to do so. In order to fairly judge someone, you must know ALL of the story, hear ALL of the evidence, understand multiple points of view, and most importantly know the depths of someone’s heart. When we judge using the “only God can judge” defense, we are saying we know that person’s relationship with God better than he knows himself.

The same people who “don’t judge” are the people who will quickly console someone with “God can use…”fill in the blank with a horrible tragedy. Now that is a statement I totally agree with. God can use ALL things. God can be found in ALL things if you look at it with the lens of Christ!

Don’t hold another person accountable for your struggles. Don’t pretend to love someone with an attempt to not judge their behaviors. Instead, love them past their behaviors. Guess what? Many times you don’t have the capacity to love certain people like that, at least not by yourself. That’s why God lives WITHIN us because HE can LOVE others genuinely. We need to ask for His help in honestly LOVING others.

Romans 12:9 says “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” You know what is good? GOD. God is GOOD! Hold on tightly to God and seek his guidance in YOUR walk. Let Him LOVE others through YOU!