Who am I to judge?

It’s a wonderful question. It is born from a keen awareness of our own inability, sinfulness, and desperate need for grace.

It’s the question which all of us should remind ourselves of on a regular basis. It’s the question from which all of our actions should derive.

Who am I to judge?

I am nobody.

I have no right to set myself up on a pedestal.

• My mind is finite.
• My experience is limited.
• My tendency is to justify my actions no matter how wrong they might be.
• My desire is to shape my opinions around what is popular so I will be liked by others.

I am in no position to determine right from wrong, moral from immoral, ethical from unethical.

It is the height of arrogance for me to make any judgments.

I have no right to judge.

Yet, the question, “Who am I to judge?” has become the main tool for others to do just that…

instead of submitting themselves to a higher power;
instead of humbling their opinions to truth;
instead of understanding our human inability.

We have used the question “Who am I to judge?” as the launching pad of defending our own judgments.

Some say, “Who am I to judge?” but then judge the words of Jesus, “for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife” as something that is outdated, insensitive, or hate speech.

Some say, “Who am I to judge?” but then judge anyone who is willing to point to an unchanging ethical norm as ignorant or bigoted.

Some say, “Who am I to judge?” but then make the judgment that their interpretation of Scripture should supersede the historical understanding of a Biblical passage.

Some say, “Who am I to judge?” but then ordain their opinions as right, moral, and blessed and anyone who disagrees with them is wrong, immoral, and biased.

The question which should humble us all has been twisted to justify the most arrogant of acts—the elevation of ourselves as the ultimate judge for all human action.

It’s true of the religionists who takes Scripture to demean others and elevate themselves, who view the sins of others as far worse than their own, and who use the name of Jesus as a name of oppression and guilt instead of liberation and grace.

It’s true of the secularist who rejects any form of higher power, who places their own reasoning as the height of understanding, and who never considers they could be wrong.

I have no right to judge. I have neither the knowledge nor the wisdom to do so.

Because of this, I must submit myself to another. I must find one that is higher than I.

He has the say of what is right and wrong, moral and immoral, ethical and unethical.

He has told me not to judge, but to tell of his ways, offer his grace, and invite others to obey. I must do so, because who am I to judge?