“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
Luke 6:37-38 New Living Translation (NLT)
Sometimes it takes the wind from our sails to be told we are not to judge someone else just a little bit. Maybe we don't judge them for who they are, but rather for something they have done to us or for doing things we wouldn't do. Jesus makes it plain that we are not to judge at all. Condemning others is not the call of mankind unless we too want to be condemned. Christ even forbids our self-righteous indignation and desires of revenge or retaliation when we have been wronged by others. To forgive them is what will ensure our own forgiveness. Who but the One who gave His life so that we all may obtain forgiveness can make this command?
Don't worry. No one is getting away with anything. We will each have our place on Christ's judgment seat (2 Corinthians 5:10) for we all will have our list of things to account for then. Jesus blesses us with these commands now to keep us from adding to our own sins and unrighteousness. When we litter our lives with judging, condemning and being unforgiving, we are only adding to those things we think we've got a pass on that will be pulled out in the end. Whatever we give, will be given back to us. That is a promise. Surely, it is better to give love and wait for that to be what comes back to us without measure.
"There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day." John 12:48 NIV
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’”
Romans 14:10-11 NIV
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