How can we judge anyone?

Question

We have not been in anyone else's head, or been through their life, so I do not think any kind of judgement is right.

What's everyone else's thoughts?

I may need to add: I DO think society judging people is good. But not us judging as individuals.

And: It is okay, for me, to feel that you DO NOT LIKE someone because they are selfish/arrogant etc, but not to say they're a BAD PERSON.

Well, OF COURSE you should make judgements of situations, but not of people.

Answer 1

We can judge their actions, but not how guilty they are for them. For example, stealing can be objectively wrong, but we can't judge how culpible the thief is for their actions. Only God can see inside their head.

People who say "don't judge" usually mean we have no right to call an action wrong. But we can say that an action is wrong in itself. Just don't judge the person themselves.

Answer 2

If you want to live in a civilized society, and have laws that protect the good of the majority, you MUST judge peoples behavior. The alternative is total hedonism. Life would rapidly deteriorate into a "survival of the fittest" mentality.

Here is just one, simple example. You are walking down the street, and you see a screaming child struggling, being dragged away by an adult towards a van. Do you stand there and do nothing? Some people do. We call those people cowards. Other people might run and get a cop, or call 911 on their phone. We call those people concerned citizens. A few people will intervene on behalf of what they perceive to be a human being in trouble, even though it might be dangerous for them. More often than not, we call these people hero's.

In each case, the person made a JUDGMENT of the situation, and acted (or failed to act.) They judged the behavior of the adult, and in so doing, risked themselves, or possibly saved an innocent life. Worse case is that they judged wrong, and there was no need for intervention. Maybe the adult was actually the child's parent, and they were just being very unruly. Whenever we judge, we always risk judging incorrectly, but the alternative is unthinkable.

We are not individuals living alone on a mountain tops. We are members of families, communities, societies, countries and the world. It is INCUMBENT on each and every one of us to judge our fellow human beings, for that is the only thing that prevents society from descending into anarchy.

Answer 3

In Matthew 7:1, Jesus said, "Judge not...", but this is not the end of this thought.

Verse 2 tells us we will be judged according to the standard we use to judge others, so the idea is we should not judge unfairly or by our own standards.

Verses 3-4 tells us not to try to judge another's minor problems until we take care of the more major problems in our own lives. After we have the "beam" (board or plank) out of our own eye, we then can see clearly to get the speck out of our brother's eye.

Notice we still recognize the speck is there, but we approach it with the idea of helping to remove it.

Of those who are evil, we shall know them by their fruit! (Verses 16 - 20) Even if you say we cannot judge, we clearly must be fruit inspectors!

Romans 16:17 says, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." To mark them and avoid them, we must be able to recognize them.

We should study the scriptures, and that should be the standard. Where God has already spoken, a subjective judgement is not needed to know if a thing is right or wrong! Those judgements have already been made.

Jesus said we are to "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." (John 7:24) Judgement is to be made, but "righteous judgement" is based on a standard higher than our own desires, feelings, and pleasures!

Answer 4

You're right... we see but a snapshot of people's lives... and it's usually filtered by what they want to display. We don't know their hearts, only God knows their hearts... truly.

Several references in the Bible tell us not to judge one another. Romans 14 says we will ALL sit in the judgement seat of God and that we should not judge each other. That doesn't mean not to point out wrongs, but that can be done with love and not judgement. "Love the sinner... hate the sin"... don't know where I heard that but it's always stuck with me. There are very very very few people in this world that I have not been able to love at least thru Christ ;-).

Answer 5

Judge ye not lest ye not be Judged
with what measure we judge so shall we be Judge
meaning we will be Judged the same way we judge others
we should not Judge at all we will all stand before God almighty on Judgment day if your name is in the Lambs Book of Life this will be when you are rewarded for your works done here on earth
no matter what we have done in this life God will forgive us if we ask forgiveness with all our hearts and turn from our sins and live for him it does matter who you are or were you've been just reach out and he will reach in. and take your sin away as far is the east is to the west they will be cast into the sea of forgetfulness and they will be no more

Answer 6

Yes, skin color, education, money, ethnic background—these have become the standards by which many people judge or, rather, prejudge another person. These are the factors that determine to whom they show favor and from whom they withhold it.

Jehovah God is “a lover of righteousness and justice.” (Psalm 33:5) He commanded the Jews: “You people must not do injustice in the judgment. You must not treat the lowly with partiality, and you must not prefer the person of a great one. With justice you should judge your associate.” (Leviticus 19:15) We must therefore shun partiality in our dealings with one another, never allowing such things as race, age, wealth, or poverty to color our judgment of people. (James 2:1-4)

It is particularly important that those serving in positions of oversight ‘do nothing according to a biased leaning,’ always seeking to hear both sides of a matter before making judgment.—1 Timothy 5:21; Proverbs 18:13.

Answer 7

I'm not judgmental at all. My guiding principle has always been Live and Let Live. I agree with you totatlly in every aspects. To take it a step further. We should disapprove or criticize the actions of a person and not his character. No character assassinations. Unless we walk in the other person's shoes, we can not make any conclusions as to how he should conduct or live his life.

Answer 8

We judge people because it is necessary to do so. In any transaction between two people, each must judge whether the other can be trusted to deliver any agreed-upon deliverables, and to not resort to acts of violence. The existence of moral standards implies the necessity of judging whether such standards are being complied with.

Answer 9

How can we not judge anyone? Seriously, the second you learn of someone's existence, whether you see them for the first time or just hear about them from someone else, you form an opinion of that person. You cannot know that someone exists and not have an opinion of them.

Answer 10

We are taught not to judge one another, yet we have to pass judgment on people all the time whether we know it or not. This is a challenge to love our neighbor as ourselves and accept them as brothers and sisters without prejudicial feelings. You are right that society, in order to maintain orderliness, has to pass judgment on violators of societies laws. This is different from passing judgment on the person as opposed to passing judgment on the actions they commited.
Carry on, you are thinking the right way.