Most Christians have at least one favorite Bible verse. Perhaps it's John 3:16. Most non-Christians have a favorite Bible verse as well. Non-Christians may know little of the Bible, but they can quote Matthew 7:1: "Judge not, lest you be judged." Ironically, this verse is misunderstood. This problem is that people want to do whatever they want to do and this may justify it in their minds. But Jesus is not saying that we should chuck discernment into the trash. Immediately following verse 7:1, Jesus issues two more commands: don't give what is holy to dogs or pearls to pigs. How can you discern a dog or a pig unless you evaluate? So what does the word judge mean? At one end of the lexical range, judge simply means to evaluate. On the other end, it means to condemn. We are to evaluate, but we are not to condemn. People today judge by sticking a label on others. "He's a narcissist. She's toxic. He's useless." The label is a shorthand way of condemning another as if they are beyond help or redemption. We should not cast our pearls before pigs means we honor the pace of grace in people's lives. You can press the truth on some but it just doesn't compute. You must give people the truth at the rate that they can bear it. The gospel doesn't make sense unless God is regenerating the heart. God is working in people's lives in very different ways, and it's our job to be sensitive to it as much as we possibly can. There are times when the words of truth will not get a fair hearing. Then we must be silent and pray it on them rather than lay it on them!
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David Bodanza is the pastor of Mission of Grace Church in Westborough, Massachusetts. He is also a practicing lawyer. He holds an M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a J.D. from New England School of Law. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, four...
