2 Sam. 4 - judge a person

by Jimmy Lau

2Sa 4:10  When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings.

Indeed, there are so many wrong ways to judge a person. So, why judge, knowing we will be wrong?
 
Yet, we can’t help. So, what should we do?

1. Look for basic goodness - Even a lion knows how to protect its pride: “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Philippians 2:4).

2. Give the benefit of the doubt – You don’t know what the other person has gone through: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).

3. Be open - When someone does something you don’t like, or does a certain thing differently from you, think of it as he is simply solving a problem in a different way than you would, after all, we are all different: “So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men” (Philippians 2:29, ESV).

4. Look Inwards - Sometimes, we may judge someone for something that we are also guilty of: “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:3).

5. Reframe – Let go the urge of judging people. Count one to ten before we judge. We will find that we will be much happier people: “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).
 
We are more of the same than different from another. Therefore, remember the golden rule: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).