“Judge not, that you be not judged.” This saying of Jesus has become a popular proverb, useful for the putting down of anyone who criticizes anything or any person, validly or otherwise. And that is not necessarily a misrepresentation of what Jesus had in mind. But beneath the simplicity of the saying there are significant shades of meaning.
Jesus, of course, was not telling his followers that they should avoid all moral judgment, all ethical discrimination. But he demanded that judgment we make of others be merciful – that we show mercy to them as God shows mercy to us. This means keeping your thumb off the scale when you would weigh the character of another person. This means not playing the little psychological game of “unmasking motives” – using shallow psychology to show that the other person behaves so badly because of his or her unworthy motives, which you so cleverly expose.
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The unmerciful, censorious judgment of others can, of course bring us some pleasure and satisfaction. Pointing out the faults of others can give you nice feelings of moral superiority. Your own sparkling virtues shine so much the brighter when you contrast them with the tarnished virtues of some people you know. The judging that is in malicious gossip generally tells more about the character of the person doing the gossipping than about that of the victim. Harsh, unmerciful judging of others is a sign of a terrible self-righteousness.
This insight into our tendency to judge others was expressed by Jesus when, after saying “Judge not, that you be not judged”, he continued:
“For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.”
Jesus put this principle positively in the fifth of his Beatitudes: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
The blessedness we can experience, the contentment that can be ours, is directly proportional to the mercy we show others. That is good psychology. That is good religion.
