AN UNHEEDED INJUNCTION by Uriah Smith

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 1, 1900

AN UNHEEDED INJUNCTION.

By Uriah Smith

What is that?—It is one given by our Saviour himself. It is short, composed of only two words; it is of the plainest import, and easily understood. The words are familiar to every reader of the New Testament, and are as often quoted, perhaps, as any other words. They are acknowledged to be of vital importance. And yet, with all this, strange to say, they are perhaps more generally disregarded than any other, by Christian people.

What, then, can this injunction be?—It is that recorded in Matt. 7:1: “Judge not.” But with these are other words which involve a conclusion, which should not be separated from them, nor for a moment be lost from the thought; namely, “that ye be not judged.” “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”

There is no denying the fact that the world is full of just such judgments as are here forbidden—needless, uncharitable, false, and hypocritical judgments. To judge a person is to pass judgment upon him, upon his actions, words, or character; and this is done, usually, hastily and thoughtlessly, by words uttered on the spur of the moment, or by actions that speak louder than words, but presented in such a way as to reflect upon the motives or the character of the one under censure, considering the circumstances under which the action was performed. It is the work of spying out our neighbor’s faults. And to be eager to do this, is not worthy work, nor is it Christian; it is not fulfilling the law of God; for the more diligent we are in this respect in regard to our brother, the more careless we are in regard to ourselves. The less we spare another’s faults, the more tender we are of our own. The ones who are the most censorious are just the ones who are themselves the least faultless, and most indulgent to their own cherished sins.

When we judge one another in this way, how far short do we come of the care taken even by secular organizations, of the people of a community, for the peace of society, and the just treatment of all concerned. It is necessary sometimes to judge criminals—those who have in some way offended against the laws of the land. But mark how carefully it is done. No one can be condemned without a careful examination of all the evidences for and against him; and it is not “hearsay” evidence, either, that is allowed any bearing in determining the verdict. The accused has always the right to be brought face to face with his accusers; and he is given an opportunity to make a good defense.

But how is it at the bar of public opinion, or in these cases where members of the church judge one another, contrary to the injunction now under notice? In these cases men are often tried, judged, and condemned, even by their brethren in the church, by a process that would not be tolerated for an instant even in a court of justice, where men are governed, not by religious principles, but only by secular motives. Thus, often without judge, without jury, without advocates to plead his cause, without witnesses to speak in his defense, and often with no evidence that would be allowed in a court of justice, the victim of this irresponsible, promiscuous manner of judging one another, is condemned as if his guilt were established, and he is treated accordingly; and that, too, when no good whatever is to be gained by his condemnation. Such things surely ought not so to be; and there are certainly good reasons why this far-reaching injunction to “judge not” should have been spread upon the sacred page.

To violate this principle, and engage in this work of judging, involves great responsibility; for God has reserved this prerogative to himself. And hence Paul declares: “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsel of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God.” The great wrong of our judging lies in our incompetence. We can not read the thoughts of men’s hearts, and know the hidden motives that control their actions.

Again: we are not servants of one another, but we are all servants together of one common Master, who will himself attend to the question of apportioning the merit or demerit of each one, and of dealing out to each one, gains or losses accordingly. Read Paul’s instructions in Romans 14. In verse 4 he says, “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?” In all this work we are out of our province. The one we would judge is the servant of another man,—another being, that is, God,—and not the servant of ourselves. We are all alike; all servants of the one great King; and he will do the judging, and will determine the reward of each at the close of the day. Now for us to undertake to judge beforehand is to ignore his position and to invade his province. Speaking of all these servants, in reference to the course they may see fit to pursue, Paul emphatically says, “To his own master he standeth or falleth.” “Why,” he searchingly inquires, “dost thou judge thy brother?” And then he enforces this question with this solemn truth: “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. . . . So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” And he adds the very natural conclusion, “Let us not therefore judge one another any more.”

The mischief of this kind of character that is ready to spy out the faults of others, is that it can hardly refrain from proclaiming abroad to others the faults it has been so skillful in unearthing, and this without stopping to consider the pain or injury his course may inflict on others. To do this, a man must override completely the golden rule, “Whatever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Judge not your neighbor in a way in which you would not like to have him judge you. Do not spy out his faults in a manner that you would consider unkind and ungenerous if done to yourself. Do not talk of his errors as you would feel it unfair to have your own discussed. Do not ascribe base motives and wicked meanings to him, which you would hold to be unjust if ascribed to you. So do ye to others whatsoever ye would that they should do to you.

Many will, of course, admit that it is not right to circulate reports about our neighbors, and judge them, by things that we hear. But then, they say, we tell only things that we positively know to be true. But, as Christians, have you any right to do even that?—The strict injunction of the apostle Paul is, “Speak evil of no man;” and he does not add, “unless it be true.” Truth is no defense to justify evil speaking. The question to be decided is not, Is the person innocent or guilty? but, Is it right to indulge in evil speaking? What does the apostle say about that heavenly grace of charity?—He says, not that it does not speak any evil, but that it thinks no evil, “rejoiceth not in iniquity. . . . believeth all things, hopeth all things,” that are lovely and of good report.

“But when I know a person to be guilty,” some one may say, “and to have acted from wrong motives, then how can I refrain from judging him, whether I will or not?” Even then you are not to judge. If evil speaking is wrong whether the thing is true or false, judging is doubly wrong, because it is mounting the throne, and usurping a prerogative that belongs to God only. Though we may know a person to be guilty of some wrong, as shown by outward acts, we do not know all the circumstances of the case, and can not, with our finite minds, fix the measure of the person’s guilt. And even if we knew all the circumstances, we could not measure the force with which they may have acted upon the mind and nature of the one who has fallen into wrong. We have no unvarying standard by which to grade all actions. By careful action, in following all the known rules of justice, we may measure the guilt of a person with respect to human laws, which concern only outward acts, and where the standard of right is such only as man erects. But what man, or combination of men, can measure his guilt with respect to the law of God, the absolute standard of right, and that which takes cognizance of the secret thoughts and motives of the heart?

To speak evil of others not only violates the laws of etiquette and good breeding, but invades a province in which even angels walk with care and circumspection. We are told that whosoever is angry with his brother without cause, shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say “Raca”

shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say “Thou fool,” shall be in danger of hell fire. And on a higher plane, Michael, the head angel, durst not bring a railing accusation against the devil, the head demon. Jude 9.

But there is an element of compensation in this matter, which seems to be still more extensively overlooked. The language, “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” implies that if we do judge, we shall be judged. But our Lord does not leave it with merely an inference. He says plainly, “With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Who thinks of this when he is pouring out denunciation and condemnation against his brother? When we are giving one what we may fancy is a good “setting up,” or “dressing down,”—whatever we may call it,—how often do we then realize that we are simply setting the pace, and gauging the measure, of what will be returned to ourselves? Phillips Brooks says, “The New Testament is full of natural and necessary reciprocity between man and the things with which he is surrounded. Every gift has its return; every act, its consequence; every call, its answer, in this great, live, alert world, where man stands central, and all things have their eyes on him, and ears open to his voice.”

It is a rule that holds in things both spiritual and temporal. Luke states it a little more fully: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38. Paul applies the same law to the spiritual field: “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” 2 Cor. 9:6. We are taught to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” We make the forgiveness we extend to others the measure of the forgiveness we ask from God.

This is further illustrated in the parable of the debtor, in Matt. 18:23–35. The one who would not forgive his fellow servant a trifling sum, after his lord had forgiven him a vast debt, had his own indebtedness revived and rolled back upon him with its crushing weight.

As already said, the same rule applies to spiritual relationships; for in proportion as we give ourselves to Christ, in that proportion he gives himself to us. Quoting again from Phillips Brooks: “There are different measures in which men give themselves to Christ; and Christ despises none of them. But in different measures he is again compelled to give himself back. In what measure each gives himself to the Saviour, the Saviour gives himself in his salvation back to each.”

It is said that each man gets out of the world of men, the rebound, the increase and development, of what he brings thereto. Let us, then, so relate ourselves to our fellow men, to the Lord, and to his work, that the rebound to us will bring comfort and good cheer here, and salvation in the world to come. U. S.