Through International Friendships (IFI), Peggy and I have hosted many international students in our home upon their arrival to the U.S. If our guests stay over a weekend, we invite them to church, where I’ve seen them occasionally navigate their cell phones during the service. I must confess being miffed in the past at such apparent disrespect. Can’t they “unplug” for one hour? What took me a regrettably long time to realize, however, was that they were using translator apps to look up theological terms completely new to them. They were not being disrespectful at all; on the contrary, they were trying to engage! If anyone sat in need of judgment, it was this erroneous judge.
I’m not alone in this regard; there is plenty of company. For instance, as Hannah weepingly implored God in her heart to grant her a son, “her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli [the priest] thought she was drunk and said to her, ‘How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.’”1 He had judged the woman from appearances without knowing her heart; he had made himself understood before seeking to understand. “‘Not so, my lord,’ Hannah replied, ‘I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.’”2 (What a great response!) Not only are we capable of false judgment, we are prone to it.
The prophet Jeremiah once pondered, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”3 Yes, who are we to judge the heart of another when we cannot fully understand our own? At the very least, we should recognize what we do not know —the heart of others, their appeal to God for His grace, and His plan for their life. Why should we shackle others with heavy chains of judgment when God would liberate them with words and acts of mercy?
Upon Hannah’s self-defense, a corrected Eli responded, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”4 Then perhaps this is our take-away — to be God’s vessels of blessing to others, and leave the judging to Him who alone is up to the job.
“First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”5 — Jesus, to us.
Father, You — and only You — are right in judgment. Give us a distaste for judging others, and incline our hearts toward them in care, compassion, mercy, and grace. In Christ we pray. Amen.
1 1 Samuel 1:13-14 NIV
2 1 Samuel 1:15-16 NIV
3 Jeremiah 17:9 NIV
4 1 Samuel 1:17 NIV
5 Matthew 7:5 NIV
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Paul Nordman—Author 