Judge Not Lest You Be Judged

I often wander through websites which debated morality and political issues and I have often read this quote: “Judge not lest you be judged”. However, I often read this quote in reference to positions that run contrary to Church doctrine and morals, and I wish to point to the fact that this verse is often incorrectly cited. It is too often used to portray a point that a person can never judge any action or have any opinion contrary to that which is now politically correct.

There is no doubt that Jesus said the words mentioned above, as they were part of His sermon on the mount, but there is much more than the phrase mentioned. Consider the following:

“Judge not, that you may not be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye? Or how sayest thou to thy brother: Let me cast the mote out of thy eye; and behold a beam is in thy own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thy own eye, and then shalt thou see to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you” (Matthew 7:1 – 6)

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:15 – 20)

Judgement is required in day to day life. We must constantly discern the paths we take and those whom we associated with and must be filled with a spirit of charity. That spirit of charity must extend to imitate Christ and be ever loving; however, many in modern society have the misguided notion that love is only what makes you feel warm and fuzzy, but this could not be farther from the truth. The spirit of love can be like that of a father or mother to a child and requires one to reprimand or harshly guide back a lost soul. Sadly, there is a misguided notion that love must be always politically correct, but think of the ultimate gift of love, Christ dying on Mount Calvary for humanity, this is as far from politically correct as one could get.


Our Baptismal vows affirm our birth in Christ and with it we reject Satan and all his vain promises and pomp. We, therefore, are creatures of a new spirit and must do our best to uphold the teachings of Christ in its entirety. We should have a firm understanding of what is right and wrong and should avoid the pride that the world offers.  We should seek to ascend ourselves to His holy place in our daily lives, but in our religious fervor we must make sure that we judge the action of the person and not the person. Further, we must also remember that part of our objective is to prevent that which is holy, a human being, from being defiled by that which is evil, sin.  Further, many fail to acknowledge that they have been deceived by the erroneous teachings of the modernist, relativists and nihilist, some of whom even exist in the ranks of laity, theologians, teachers, etc. Thus, it is the duty of the church militant to attempt to gain back those who have deceived and there is no doubt that there are many who obstinately reject or ignore the teachings of the Church, but we should remember what was stated in the book of James: “There is one lawgiver and judge, that is able to destroy and to deliver”. Therefore, we in admonishing the sinner must always be careful not to condemn them, for that is not our place, but we can always remind them what is written which is not a condemnation; rather just a situational observation.

I say situational observation because Our Lord gave us commandments to follow, and it is the violation of these commandments that we can comment upon.  If a person breaks the commandments, they sin, and they begin to separate ties with God, and if they do not repent or do not realize the folly of their ways, they may readily condemn themselves to an eternity of torment.  In fact this was told to us by Jesus, “And by this we know that we have known him, if we keep his commandments. He who saith that he knoweth him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar: and the truth is not in him. But he that keepeth his word, in him in very deed the charity of God is perfected. And by this we know that we are in him” (1 John 2:3 – 5). You may consider a bit further when Jesus says: “Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7: 21 – 23). Consequently, admonishing the sinner is not judging them but trying to prevent a negative course of events. Every person exercises free will and with that they can choose to accept God and His laws or reject them, but one must put aside pride when being corrected (the sin of Satan) and come to terms that they are in fact not being judged but being loved because "[t]he Lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance" ( 2 Peter 3:9)[CCC 1037]. It is love that leads one's Catholic brother or sister to guide them back to Rome, and fullness of Christ. However, if one wishes to continue to be obstinate that is their rightful choice, as God created us to love Him, but will never force us to.

As Catholics, we should hold a firm belief that the Church has been guided by the Holy Spirit under the Vicar of Christ and has professed all that is true in doctrine, morals and faith. It should then be with firm confidence that we understand the commandments of Our Lord and Saviour and profess it unflinching to our lost brethren. “Judge not lest you be judged” many say, but they say it without understanding the fullness of the words. We are not to judge our brethren to the pits of hell, but we are to judge every action and fraternally correct those who have strayed. If we were never to judge, then how would we ever bring ourselves to the confessional? How would we ever dispense advice? How would a priest ever help a lost soul? There is always some measure of judgement or discernment. Therefore, judge...that I will do and I believe all should. Pray for you, we most definitely should, but condemn you, never, for that is not our place. That alone belongs to the Creator. Yet, we must never lose sight of the two great commandments:

"The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these" (Matthew 12:29 - 32)

So, for those who like to readily quote Matthew 7:1 to excuse their action and quiet their bethren, ask yourself, have you followed the two great commandments? If you think so, how? Do you show honor and love to God by following His teachings and His laws? It must be remembered that in light of faith all sin is evil (Catholic Morality, 1990, Fr. Laux). If you have to make excuses to justify your actions and break from the teachings of the Church, perhaps it is time to reflect, pray and seek spiritual advice.

Pax tecum.