Dad-Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment-John 7:24

 As the Sermon on the Mount drew to a close the Savior gave one of his most famous commands, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye." (Matt 7:1-5).

Pretty stern talk coming in the form of a direct command (judge not) followed simply by the karmic heads up that the results of our judgements will boomerang back to us. The Savior closes by condemning those who judge as hypocrites. Is he saying we simply shouldn't judge or rather that our judging is of the wrong kind?

We start our inquiry in 1Sam 9, by reviewing the selection of Saul as King which brings the Lord's abilities to judge into sharp relief against ours. The children of Israel had importuned the Lord to have a King because the Kings of the stronger tribes around them were successfully leading their armies into battle. Feeling exposed, they also wanted one of these "Warrior Kings". 

 Not surprisingly, these Kings were usually imposing physical specimens that looked good in armor. Saul was an obvious choice as he came from a prominent family and was large and fair, "Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel... a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people". (1Sam 9:1-2). However, as we all know, the peoples choice (Saul), got off to a good start but ended in disaster.

Fortunately, the Lord chose the next King. Picking up the story in 1Sam 16, the Lord told the Prophet Samuel that the next King would be from Bethlehem and a son of Jesse. Arriving at the home of Jesse, Samuel reviews the sons and is most impressed with Eliab saying "surely the Lord's anointed is before him (the Lord). The Lord however had other ideas and replied, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart". The Prophet and even David's father, had looked past David (the Lord's choice) who, because of his youth and diminutive size hadn't been considered.

The Lord's judgement was soon vindicated on the field of battle. In 1 Sam 17, we see Israel shaking in fear at the sight of Goliat,h, And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.".  It's now showtime for David who puts his heart on display as he sells Saul that he is the one to confront Goliath saying "The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine". The Israelites continue to get it wrong when they load David up with armor which he shed in favor of a few small stones from a nearby brook. Goliath goes on to lose quickly and badly because he brought a sword (and lots of armor) to a sling fight. 

Failure of human judgement is everywhere particularly exposing man's belief that physical might is more important than faith in God. The Israelites had no way to see that the Lord had chosen a man of faith and armed him with superior technology and then out of sight of everyone prepared him in advance for this moment.

If a Prophet as great as Samuel doesn't know how to judge his fellow men what should us lessor mortals do? While the Lord commands us not to judge others, he does command us to forgive.

The command to forgive is just as forceful as the command not to judge and never more clear in D&C 64:10: "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men". The Savior's mortal life is the most powerful example of continually forgiving others, particularly when juxtaposed against the Pharisee's actions. 

Recall the case of the woman taken in adultery in John 8. The Pharisees bring the accused to the Savior looking to catch him out saying, "Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him". The Pharisees had already judged the woman (and the Savior himself) and were now simply waiting to accuse.

Irony then abounds as the sinless one requests a presumed sinless one in the crowd to throw the first stone. The tables are turned and their hypocrisy is exposed (recall the "beams and motes" in Matthew 7). Note also how the Savior treats the law. For the Pharisees, judging others against the law was used to get gain both financially and to advance in the social order. The Savior's use of the law was much different. Rather than using the law to condemn, the law allowed him to forgive, extend mercy and then provide encouragement while reminding the accused that obedience is still required. Hence his loving command, "neither do I condemn thee, go thy way and sin no more".

Time and again during his ministry, the Savior was presented with opportunities to score a person's performance and then condemn, but in every case, his judgement was to determine what was needed, which was usually forgiveness and mercy followed by healing. His example should particularly impress each of us to prioritize forgiveness since if anyone could rightfully judge and condemn, it would be him.

All of this has caused me to reflect on how much more joyful my life would have been if I would have forgiven more and kept my judging of others only to judging what is needed. When I use the law or conventional standards to judge others, I get in this unhappy loop of comparing myself with others. When I've judged those I love to have failed in someway my mind turns to feeling let down or to feel a failure as a parent or friend. This is a always a quick trip to unhappyland. Truly, I become judged by the judgement by which I judged as the Savior warned.

On the other hand, when I forgive and apply a different kind of judgement, that is, judging what is needed, the unhappiness from these false comparisons disappears. Further, when I "forgive" the world for circumstances I don't think are fair and forgive others for how I've been treated, I see the world (and others) as new, without labels and all their beauty is revealed. I count my blessings that I'm alive. Even better, when I forgive and then serve the need, I feel the joy of acting as the Savior's hands here on earth.

What does all this mean when it comes to friends and loved ones who have made poor life choices or hold political/religious views I consider wrong or even toxic? The Savior's life and the scriptural record are clear: not having walked in another's shoes and not knowing their heart, we should look past, forgive and limit our judgement to understanding what is needed (and then doing it).

In this way we follow the Savior's council in John 7:24 to "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment". This is a big ask since it is much easier to judge than forgive (at least it is for me) but we must move in this direction if we want to live more Christlike lives. Adding these teachings of the Savior to Alexander Pope's wonderful couplet, "To err is human, to forgive is divine" we could the update it to read, "To err is human, to forgive and judge righteously is divine." 

(I owe a number of these ideas to David F. Holland-A Brief Theological Introduction to the Book of Mormon-Moroni)