From: Matthew 7:1-5
Various Precepts: Do Not Judge
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [1] "Judge not, that you be not judged.
[2] For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the
measure you give will be the measure you get. [3] Why do you see the
speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is
in your own eye? [4] Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me take
the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?
[5] You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you
will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
Commentary:
1. Jesus is condemning any rash judgments we make maliciously or
carelessly about our brothers' behavior or feelings or motives. "Think
badly and you will not be far wrong" is completely at odds with Jesus'
teaching.
In speaking of Christian charity St. Paul lists its main features:
"Love is patient and kind [...]. Love bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4, 5,
7). Therefore, "Never think badly of anyone, not even if the words or
conduct of the person in question give you good grounds for doing so"
([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 442).
"Let us be slow to judge.--Each one sees things from his own point of
view, as his mind, with all its limitations, tells him, and through
eyes that are often dimmed and clouded by passion" ("ibid"., 451).
1-2. As elsewhere, the verbs in the passive voice ("you will be
judged", "the measure you will be given") have God as their subject,
even though He is not explicitly mentioned: "Do not judge OTHERS, that
you be not judged BY GOD". Clearly the judgment referred to here is
always a condemnatory judgment; therefore, if we do not want to be
condemned by God, we should never condemn our neighbor. "God measures
out according as we measure out and forgives as we forgive, and comes
to our rescue with the same tenderness as He sees us having towards
others" (Fray Luis de Leon, "Exposicion Del Libro De Job", chapter
29).
3-5. A person whose sight is distorted sees things as deformed, even
though in fact they are not deformed. St. Augustine gives this advice:
"Try to acquire those virtues which you think your brothers lack, and
you will no longer see their defects, because you will not have them
yourselves" ("Enarrationes In Psalmos", 30, 2, 7). In this connection,
the saying, "A thief thinks that everyone else is a thief" is in line
with this teaching of Jesus.
Besides: "To criticize, to destroy, is not difficult; any unskilled
laborer knows how to drive his pick into the noble and finely-hewn
stone of a cathedral. To construct: that is what requires the skill of
a master" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 456).
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.