Thought for the Day

People approve of righteous judges, but hold authorities in contempt who favor the wicked. Judges who reward evildoers with a light sentence will be cursed by the people and be judged severely themselves. The Bible tells us that there is a very strong penalty for perverting justice (Isaiah 5:20-24; Proverbs 17:13).

Judges need discernment from God in order to serve the people in a fair manner. Those who are motivated by self-interest are not in a position to receive wisdom from God, but are prone to deception. People of good character possess the most important qualification for sitting as a judge. They will bring forth justice when they rule in difficult cases.

We all must make judgments in life. Some Christians mistakenly believe that we should not judge others at all; but that is not what scripture teaches. Most of us are familiar with Matthew 7:1: "Judge not, that ye be not judged." If we look only at this one verse, we will feel guilty about making an evaluation of a situation. However, we need to look at the verse in its proper context: "...For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye" (Matthew 7:2-5).

Jesus did not say we should never judge, but rather told us how to judge. This passage was part of the Sermon on the Mount, which began with the Beatitudes. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). If we want others to be merciful to us when we make mistakes, we must extend mercy to others. We should not judge by our feelings or impressions, but according to God's Word. "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment" (John 7:24, NIV). If we see sin in our own lives, or the lives of others, we must not gloss over it or excuse it (and thus call evil good), but call it sin. Then, we are to repent of our sins and pray for others who are in sin, asking the Lord to forgive and deliver them. As we make these kinds of honest judgments, we bring help - and not condemnation - to those who are in sin. This will point them to the One who both loves and forgives them.