Judge Not? Really?

There are probably several lessons one can draw from the verse that says, "Judge not lest you be judged". I think it would be a mistake to think the verse was saying to not judge. After all, every minute of every day we judge. And there is nothing wrong with a judgment whose conclusion is negative.

I would think perhaps, another understanding of the verse could be that we often project onto others our judgments of ourselves. In other words, if we take the verse out of the negative and put it in the positive, it would read, "Judge and in that way, you will be judged." Why? Because we project on to others our judgments of ourselves. In the positive, it is a simply a statement of fact. It is not a warning.

So what kind of judgments do we want? I would think we would want accurate judgments sandwiched with kindness and patience and compassion. But sometimes the accurate part is ouchy. That is when our culture runs to the "judge-not" stance. But I would say it is better to judge ourselves often and accurately and compassionately, so that when we do the inevitable projecting, it is both accurate and compassionate.