How Do You Judge Others? (Proverbs 17)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Do you judge others?

Regardless of what we might say, we are constantly making certain judgments about others. Most people naturally see themselves as the primary point of balance and others as out of alignment. Friends are either too conservative or too liberal, too introverted or too extroverted, too kind or too harsh.

But Proverbs 17:15 says, “Acquitting the guilty and condemning the just—both are detestable to the Lord.” This statement is an admonition to judges. As Bruce Waltke writes, “The proverb corrects the popular misconception that it is better to set free ten guilty persons than to condemn one innocent person.”^[1] God hates injustice in any form. As Keil and Delitzsch write, “Whoever pronounces sentence of justification on the guilty, appears as if he must be judged more mildly than he who condemns the guiltless, but both the one and the other alike are an abhorrence to God.”^[2]

While we might not play the role of a local civil judge, this Proverb tells us something about God’s nature and how he wants us to treat others. For example, if we lean more conservative in our thinking, we’ll be inclined to give those who have a similar philosophy as us a pass. If we’re more socially liberal, we’ll naturally be more charitable toward those who share our viewpoints on certain topics that we’re passionate about.

This is natural. But this Proverbs helps us understand that we need to be careful in our judgments. Practically speaking, if we’re hiring someone for a job, will we hire someone who is best qualified or someone who thinks more like us? Do we give the benefit of the doubt to friends who say what we want to hear but dismiss those who don’t?

Judgments take many forms. But it’s critical to judge people from a position of balance and not bias.  

A Meditation to PRAY

Praise | Lord, I praise you for your unerring sense of justice and righteousness. You are eternally fair and just, never swayed by falsehood or deceit. Your ways are perfect, embodying the ultimate standard of truth and moral integrity.

Release | I consciously release my own misunderstandings and the judgments I cast upon others, acknowledging that they often fall short of your divine wisdom, and I seek help to relinquish my propensity to judge others harshly or to view them through the lens of my imperfections.