Judging and the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:1–4, 12)
Many of Jesus';s teachings — as well as others in the Bible — have become so ingrained into our culture that we know their meaning even if we don';t know who said it or in what context. One excellent example of this is from Jesus';s Sermon on the Mount and is what has come to be known as the Golden Rule. It goes like this: “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
Jesus';s famous Sermon on the Mount very likely wasn';t a sermon in the sense that we think of sermons. In that culture, it was very common for teachers to gather their followers for informal question and answer teaching sessions and not preaching in the traditional sense.
On an individual basis, it';s not hard to understand what the phrase “do to others whatever you would like them to do to you” means. All of us want to be treated fairly and justly — to be spoken to and treated in a respectful manner, to be paid equitably for our work, to be given what truly is due us. Jesus wanted his followers to understand the importance of treating other people in a manner each of them wants to be treated.
The Golden Rule can be seen as a summarization of the teaching that Jesus had given in the previous few sentences. He started this section by talking about judging others, making the point that we shouldn';t judge others if we ourselves don';t want to be judged equally as harshly. “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged,” he said. “For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged” (Matthew 7:1–2).
Being the Son of God, Jesus knew better than anyone the frailties and imperfections in humanity, and he also knew that humans would be prone to judging and condemning one another for things as bad or worse as anything they themselves had done. That is partly why he went on to warn people not to worry about removing a “speck” from their friends'; eyes while there is a “log” in their own (Matthew 7:3–4). In other words, don';t judge or condemn or try to correct someone before you first deal with your own issues.
Study Questions
In light of Jesus';s teaching not to judge others, what do you think is the appropriate way to respond to those whose lives you can see are out of order?
What kind of “logs” do you need to get out of your eye in order to be a better example of Christianity to those around you?
