Luke 6:37
“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:”

Matthew 7:12 says, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them…” This is what we commonly call the Golden Rule. It is golden because you can’t control what others do to you, but you can control what you do to others. However, it is what you do to others that determines what God sends your way.

In Luke 6:37, three actions that have reciprocating results. God says, “judge not…condemn not…forgive…” These three actions are a choice that determines what others do to you. The key to these actions is found in verse 38 which says, “For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” In other words, you hold the measuring cup of which of these things come back to you. Let me explain.

God says, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged…” In other words, the more you judge the motives of others, the more others will judge your motives. You hold the measuring cup of how much others will judge your motives.

God says, “…condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned…” He is saying that the more you condemn others when they do wrong, the more they will condemn you. If you don’t like others condemning you when you do wrong, then you would be wise not to condemn others because they condemn you to the measure that you condemn others.

God then turns the books and says, “…forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:” In other words, you can stop the judging and condemnation if you learned to forgive. The degree to which you forgive is the degree to which others will forgive you. With these actions in mind, let me share two observations with you.

First, you choose which action you do. Nobody makes you judge the motives of others, just like they don’t make you forgive others. Nobody makes you condemn another’s actions just like they don’t make you forgive someone when they do something wrong. It is your choice which cup you pick up to dish out. You may not be able to control how others judge your motives, but you can control whether you will forgive. You are the one in control of which action you perform.

Second, the degree to which you are forgiven is to the degree that you choose to forgive others. Herein is the key to making all this happen; if you become a forgiving person, then people will less likely judge and condemn you when you do wrong. The more a person forgives, the less others judge their motives and condemn them.

My friend, you could stop many relationship quarrels if you learned to forgive. You will find that if you have a forgiving spirit, you will be less likely to read into others’ motives. Others will be more forgiving of your flaws if you would be forgiving of theirs. The degree that you forgive will determine the degree to which you judge or condemn. The more forgiveness you choose to give out, the less time you will have to judge and condemn others. Life is much easier when you choose to pick up the cup of forgiveness instead of the cup of condemnation and judgment.

Author: Allen Domelle