Most of us have heard this statement on many occasions . ” You cannot judge me”. However, what people fell to realize, is that judgment is everywhere in both our society and other cultures as well. However, what the average Christian does, is take Matthew, 7: 1-5, out of context. Matthew chapter seven,verses one through five is dealing with the hypocrite. We as human being can judge each other’s actions or behaviors, but we cannot judge the intent of a person’s heart. For example, lets say that John Doe is a devout Christian, and, you and I walked up on John Doe, cursing someone out, and constantly using profanity. Based on John’s actions, he is not acting Christ-like, but, later on you and I found out that a guy had a gun in John’s back, at the time that we saw John using profanity. The guy told John that if he stopped cursing, that he would shoot him in the back. Therefore, even though you and I judged John’s behavior as not being consisted with Christian values and beliefs, we know now that John was using profanity because he feared for his life. You and I judged John’s actions and not the intent of his heart, only God can judge the intent of a person’s heart. This is why all world governments have some kind of  system of judgment, and, these systems of judgment are not based on the intent of a person’s heart, but, are rather based on the actions and behavior of an individual or group. This is why in our penal codes, we have felonies and misdemeanors, in the categories of First, Second, Third, and some states have Fourth degree felonies and class “A”, “B”, or “C”, misdemeanors. When children get into a dispute or fight, dad or mom, must judge the action or behavior of the children. Dad and mom, must settle the dispute by determining who was wrong and who was right. When individuals go to court, the judge must decide, based on the evidence, who was wrong and who was right. Quite naturally in a criminal case, the jury will decide guilt or  innocence. The boss or supervisor, on the job must make judgment calls based on the behavior or actions of employees. Sometimes, the judgment calls by the supervisor will be positive, and, therefore, the employee, will receive an award such as a pay raise or a promotion, or if negative, the employee, would be placed on probation or either be fired. There is no such thing as living in a world in which individuals are not being judged for the actions that they take. Making a statement such as, “you cannot judge me”, is ludicrous, because the whole world lies in judgment, and, as far as the Christian is concerned, the bible that the Christian reads, has a book in it, that is called, “ Judges”, and, what individuals such as Gideon, Deborah, Samson, Othniel, Ehud, Abdon, Jair, and others were doing, in the book of “Judges”, was judging. Samuel is the last individual to be both prophet and judge of Israel, in the Old Testament. A person can judge another individual’s behavior or actions, but not the intent of the individual’s heart.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

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