James 4:11-12 (The Scoop on Judging)

¹¹ Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. ¹² God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

We are a culture who LOVES to speak evil against one another, aren't we?  Two words: celebrity gossip. As a culture we are obsessed with reality t.v. shows, People magazine, and other online articles, and then we love to bash on the people during our lunch break at work the next day.  I see this all the time!  And if you're not into celebrity gossip, perhaps you've used the following phrases as you've told a story about a friend: Did you hear about _____?  I'm so concerned about her...and then you go on to tell stories that are,... ultimately, gossip?  Until yesterday, I thought "evil" only referred to people like Hitler, but certainly not me!  Let me refresh your memory.  Yesterday, we learned that we all have evil desires in us.  Evil is defined as 'morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked; harmful; injurious; characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering; unfortunate; disastrous'.  So, can what we say about our friends to our other friends be "harmful" and "injurious"?  Absolutely!  It is so easy to give into the desire to talk about others in a less than flattering light.  BUT, God calls us to not 'speak evil (harmful and injurious words) against each other.'

 "If you criticize and judge each other, than you are criticizing and judging God's law.  Your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you."  What is this talk about the law?  Well, Matthew 7:1 says, "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged."  

We are not any better than any one else.  We are not better than a celebrity that only sees her body as a sexual object; we are not any better than the high roller CEO who goes to jail for money laundering; we are not better than a serial rapist and murderer.  Why?  Because "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  Again, that word is ALL, and as my pastor would say, "All means all."  Without Jesus, despite the many great things we may have done, we would still be going to hell.  All of us.  My sin is just as abhorrent and sickening to God as the person's I am judging.  So, what should we be doing instead of judging others? "Your job is to obey the law..."  As I sometimes have to say to my elementary students, just worry about yourself.  When it comes to sin, it's okay to be self-focused!  Look at your own heart, and humbly seek to follow God...yourself.

Now, I must state a side note: the judgement we're talking about here is eternal judgement, whether people are saved or not.  I'm not saying to teenagers that it's okay to tell your parents, Mom, I'm choosing to spend all my weekends with the local drug dealers because God tells me not to judge.  On the contrary, God does tell us "Do not be mislead: Bad company corrupts good character" (1 Cor. 15:33) and "The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray" (Prov. 12:26).  We are still called to judge whether people are trustworthy, encouraging, good friend material, etc, based on who their former actions have proven them to be, and then therefore to judge what type of a relationship we want to have with them.

But as far as their salvation, verse 12 says, "God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?"  So, take the pressure off yourself.  You don't have to make that call.  God will.  In the meantime, He has called you to love, serve, and show kindness to everyone, no matter what life choices they may have made.  "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).  

When we bad-mouth others, especially other Believers, it is God and His Word who take the beating. People are watching us to see if our actions are in step with who and Whose we claim to be.  Today, choose to obey God's law.  Choose to build each other up!  And I would even challenge you to re-think the amount of celebrity gossip you allow to be poured into your mind and heart.  After all, "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks."