Sadly, many Christians choose judgment over kindness. This is something I have observed in various Christian contexts and communities. It could be you have also noticed the same thing.
Why is this? Why do so many Christians act judgmental when Jesus teaches the exact opposite? The answer is sin. Each of us has free will and with our free will, we can choose to sin.
God wants us to choose to do the right thing, but unfortunately, many of us don’t. We all struggle with our own demons and our own sins; however, as believers, we do not need to act judgmental toward others.
I have seen many unbelievers be turned away from Jesus after witnessing the mean behavior of Christians. As we can see, in no way is this helping more people hear the message of the gospel and coming to know Him.
Christians need to hang up the coat of judgment and choose instead to be kind. Believers do not need to take a “holier than thou” mentality and push many away from Jesus. Neither should believers make others feel less than or inferior because of their life choices. After all, mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13).
By choosing kindness over judgment, you will truly be reflecting Christ to the world. When the Lord walked on this earth, He showed mercy, compassion, and love to the people. In fact, He showed us the greatest act of kindness and the greatest act of love by dying on the cross for us.
All of us have done bad things, yet through Jesus, we have been given reconciliation and forgiveness. Why is it so hard for us to give that to others?
None of us can say we are without sin. Each of us has our own sin struggles, yet we are eternally thankful that Jesus has paid our sin debt in full and has blessed us with eternal life. Why is it that we as Christians think that God doesn’t want all people to experience this forgiveness, mercy, and love?
Jesus did not die for only select people. Rather, He died for the sins of the entire world (John 3:16-17). Even though you might not like someone’s life choices or decisions does not mean it gives you any right to be judgmental towards them. We are not the judges—God is.
The Bible tells us, “He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth” (Psalm 105:7)
God is our judge and his judgments are all over the earth. Moreover, Ecclesiastes 3:17 says, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.”
God is the righteous judge and He will bring judgment on the wicked. Even as believers, we will all undergo judgment at the Bema seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10).
While this is not a judgment of salvation, it is a judgment of works. Each person will be judged based on what they did for Christ. Every believer will be given at least one reward; however, many of us will have rewards taken away for things we did not do.
Therefore, for those of us who believe we are above judgment, we need to think again. Even ourselves as believers will all face the judgment seat of Christ. Since this is true, we do not need to act as though we are superior or somehow better than those who do not know Christ.
Furthermore, Christians need to ensure they are not acting as though they are better than other Christians too as this is something that is all too common within Christian circles. All of us are equal at the foot of the cross.
Nobody is better than anyone else. If anyone thinks he or she is better than someone else, they need to take a look at the Bible. Pride always comes before the fall. Do not allow pride to cloud your judgment.
All of us have areas of improvement as none of us are perfect and none of us ever will be. Choose to practice kindness to all people and strip away any belief that you are better than someone else.
If everyone treated each other the way they wanted to be treated, we would have much less problems. This entire concept is taught in what is now known as the Golden Rule (Luke 6:31). The Golden Rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated.
So how do you want to be treated? Do you want to be treated with harshness and criticism, people making snap decisions about who you are based on your mistakes and weaknesses? Or do you want to be treated with gentleness and patience, with the understanding that you are on a journey and deserve another chance? I'd like the second option, too!
If everyone did this, including Christians themselves, we would be doing much better. Jesus wants us to be kind to all people and to never treat anyone in a bad way.
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant is a vivid illustration of this principle. The story can be found in Matthew 18:21-35, and it’s a powerful story of a man who owes his master 10,000 bags of gold. In the master’s great mercy, the man gets his debt canceled. But instead of this man treating someone else who owed him a mere hundred silver coins with the same kindness, he demands to be repaid. In the end, he gets thrown back in jail to be tortured until he pays back everything he owes.
This story could have been so different if the man had treated his debtors the way that he wanted to be treated by his master. God expects the same mercy from us that he has greatly shown to us.
Never should you look down on someone due to their financial situation, personal life, or the life circumstances they are in. If you do, you are behaving as a Pharisee. How can anyone say they know Jesus and truly love Him if they are treating everyone badly?
Take a deep dive into the Bible and get acquainted with who Jesus actually is. The Lord is not some sort of tyrannical individual who causes havoc to befall on anyone who does not live in accordance with what churches teach. Rather, Jesus is our wonderful Savior, who is full of kindness, love, and mercy.
Never does the Lord make us feel bad about our past actions nor does He condemn us based on our bad decisions. Instead, He extends mercy, forgiveness, and love to us. In the same way, this is what we should be doing as Christians. We should not be treating other people badly nor should we be judging them or making them feel bad about their past choices.
Everything has the chance to be forgiven at the foot of the cross. Christians need to stop the practice of treating others as inferior because they are never going to help anyone come to know Jesus this way. They will only lead individuals further and further away from Christ.
If you truly want to help others know about Jesus and come to know Him as their Lord, you have to choose kindness over judgment.
You might not agree with all of their life choices, but it is important that you show kindness, mercy, and love regardless. By doing this, you will be able to help them know about the Lord and His saving grace.
All of our actions should be done in a way to reflect Christ. If our actions are not reflecting Christ, we will be giving a false perception of Jesus to the world.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/izusek