Is It Good or Bad?

Romans 14:10 through Romans 14:13 (RSV) ¹⁰Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; ¹¹for it is written,

            “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

            and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

¹²So each of us shall give account of himself to God.

¹³Then let us no more pass judgment on one another, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

We live a consumer oriented society. That is, we live in a market. We buy products and services, but first we evaluate those products and those services. We judge their worth. We go to a doctor and decide if we like him or her or if they are competent. We go to our banks and decided if the teller was helpful or not helpful. We decide if the services a waitress were worth a 20% tip or a 5% percent tip. We judge the quality of the food served to us. We judge a new television show, a new head coach of our favorite team, or the new pitcher or quarterback. We judge our child’s new teacher, our dentist, even our next door neighbors. Are they good or are they bad? “Better this way or better that way.” A day of shopping is a judgment day.

There are two kinds of judgments. One is an assessment of a thing or a person. “It is grey and heavy.” “This is wise or unwise.” “This is right thing to do.” “He or she is the right person for the job.” Then there are moral judgments or judgments of worth. “What a crummy human being he is!” “He calls himself a Christian!” It is the later of these that is condemned by Paul. We remember that Paul decided not to take John Mark with him on his second missionary journey. Paul made a judgment of John Mark’s capabilities and decided he was too immature to make the trip. This was the first kind of judgment. It is not only allowed, it is necessary for good leadership.

Judgments per se are not forbidden. What is condemned are harsh judgments, unfair judgments, and judgments that humiliate and shame a Christian. Such judgments discourage the progress of a brother or sister. Even our judgments will be judged that Great Day of Judgment.

We are always being judged and we are always judging others. Much of it needs to simply stop. If an assessment is made and judgment voiced, it must always be for the purpose of building up another and never tearing another down.

A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873)

Life is like a cash register in that every account, every thought, every deed, like every sale, is registered and recorded.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979)

What difference does it make to you what someone else becomes, or says, or does? You do not need to answer for others, only for yourself.

Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471)