For many people, the topic of judgment begins and ends at Matthew 7:1, in which the Savior is reported to have said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints combine this with the injunction at Matthew 22: 39 to “love thy neighbour as thyself” and believe that all that is required to live a Christian life is to love everyone and not judge anyone.  If the scriptures consisted of just these two verses, they might have a point.  Unfortunately for those advocating this incomplete view, and those unfortunate enough to find themselves under the sway of this ultimately damning philosophy, it isn’t quite so simple.

Even without the clarifying additions in the Joseph Smith Translation,[1] it is clear from context in Matthew 7 that Jesus was not commanding us to not judge anything, as if that were even possible. Christ immediately cautioned us that “with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged,” acknowledging implicitly that we will all make judgments, that it is impossible not to do so on one level or another.  Alma explained this concept beautifully to his son Corianton:

“See that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.”[2]

As we continue through Matthew 7, we see the Savior teaching us how to judge righteously.  In verses 3 through 5, He discusses beams and motes in the respective eyes of two brothers.  He doesn’t condemn the one brother for wishing to help his brother with his mote.  The only fault he finds is that the helpful brother hasn’t done what he needs to do to see clearly the situation, to judge clearly how best to help.  The Savior endorses the brother helping with the mote once he has taken steps to see clearly himself.

Judging righteous judgments requires similar preparation.  We not only need to have a clear understanding of the Lord’s commandments that apply to any situation, but need to have clear vision, spiritually and intellectually, in order to judge righteously.

The injunction in verse 6 regarding dogs and swine requires judgment as well, not only to discern who are the dogs and swine, but also to know what is holy that shouldn’t be cast toward them.  Likewise, we see additional calls to make judgments in discerning how to give good gifts (v. 11), how to find the straight gate and narrow path (vrs. 13-14), discerning false prophets and wolves (vrs. 15-20), discerning false disciples (vrs. 21-23), and judging what foundation upon which to build your life (vrs 24-27).  All of these require the righteous exercise of judgment.

And yet, there are many who exalt a stance on non-judgmentalism.  When family members are clearly violating gospel teachings, they tell us that we shouldn’t judge, that we shouldn’t even notice that something is amiss.   We are lectured that if a child, for instance, comes forward and declares their intention to not keep the law of chastity, in order to be non-judgmental and Christian our response must be to affirm whatever they are choosing to do and support them in their decisions. We should never suggest that their course of action may be incorrect, or we are engaged in prohibited judging.

And yet, such a position requires one to make judgment calls all the same.  Rather than adhering to the laws of God which have been provided, we are instead determining that those laws, and the pain and anguish and damnation that follows such decisions, should not inform our thoughts or actions in reaction to such sin.  Those that follow such a path make a judgment call that it is better to try and help their child to find joy in sin in a short time frame, rather than to encourage them to recognize the wages of that sin in the longer view.  In short, such parents are judging the short term rush of sin as being of greater worth than avoiding the longer term natural and inevitable consequences of such actions.

So many of these pat themselves on the back and congratulate themselves for being such great disciples of Christ, while willfully assisting those around them to damn themselves by their actions.  Such members are lukewarm,[3] trying to keep up appearances, but unwilling to walk the harder, and sometimes more costly, path of discipleship.

There is much more to say on this topic, and expect that it will be visited again and again in this space going forward.

[1]  “Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment.”

[2]  Alma 41:14

[3] Revelation 3:15-16