WHEN Jesus gave the command, "Judge not," he presented an obligation which it has taken mankind many ages to begin to understand, and consequently complete obedience thereto has been long delayed. Paul also taught, "Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." In spite of the fact that both these great teachers emphasized the need of avoiding personal judgment, men have gone on, with comparatively few exceptions, judging others as freely as though the command, "Judge not," had never been uttered. And all this because of the belief in persons many, with its attendant critical personal sense.
Perhaps no practice claims to be more universal among men than this one of sitting in judgment on each other's thoughts and words and deeds. Indeed, a large share of ordinary human thinking and talking is occupied with this very thing. The harmful results therefrom are apparent even to the most superficial observer. To be sure, Christians have talked much of the wrong of harsh judgment, and kindliness along these lines has been preached for centuries. Nevertheless, none perhaps have indulged in more cruel judgment than some of those who have called themselves Christians,—as witness their persecutions of one another when points of difference in religious doctrine and dogma have arisen.
Although Jesus lived the truth he taught, saying, "I judge no man;" although he even defined the method whereby false judgment was to be avoided, when he declared, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment," the belief in personality continued to blind men until the ability to refrain from judgment became so nearly a dead letter in the code of the Christian that he apparently came to the conclusion that judgment of another was a very right thing; indeed, that it was an expression of a high degree of intelligence to be able to sit in judgment on others.
Mrs. Eddy came teaching Christian Scientists to pray daily that they be delivered from the evil of judging erroneously (see Manual, Art. VIII, Sect. 1) . In this she placed the question of judgment before every student in a way that there was no escaping. When in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 391) she also says, "When thou art delivered to the judgment of Truth, Christ, the judge will say, 'Thou art whole! '" she puts the responsibility of judgment in the only place where it can properly belong. Truth alone is capable of true judgment.
This immediately sends the Christian Scientist home to his own consciousness to see if Truth is exalted there as the only judge. Is it allowed to divide between right and wrong in his own thinking? Does he always turn away from the contemplation of person to Principle to see what the truth about every situation, every circumstance, every question is? If, on the other hand, he allows himself to consider things from a personal standpoint,—even though he may imagine he is looking at them mentally,—he will continue in the attitude which believes in evil as real; and so, how can he be delivered from it?
When the Christian Scientist is first confronted with the fact that he must bring his every thought into subjection to Truth; when he recognizes that nothing must be allowed to enter his mental door which does not originate in God, divine Mind,— he is apt to constitute himself the judge of all his brother's words and acts. He says: Must I not judge all the thoughts that present themselves to me? And if I see my brother doing that which is contrary to Principle, must I not judge in order to shut my door upon his wrong sense of things? Here is the rock on which many a Christian Scientist has foundered; for having become a self-constituted judge, self-righteousness has been thereby so nurtured that the student, thus deceived, has gone on until he has been ready to believe that he alone was able to divide between right and wrong, between truth and error.
This Pharisaism of human belief may thus have been so cultivated that one may have spent much time thanking God that he was not as other men! Considering himself as judge, he has seen his brother only as sinner. Contemplating sin from a more or less personal standpoint, he has thereby apparently given it a basis in his thought, and thus has become the exemplification of Paul's statement, "Wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." In other words: Thou that lookest upon evil as personal makest it real to thine own belief. To spend one's time and thought weighing a brother's thoughts, words, and deeds to see if they measure up to one's own understanding of good is to attempt to stand in the place of Truth,—the only judge.
Now all this is very far from the mental attitude which delivers itself and its brother to "the judgment of Truth," where the judge will say, "Thou art whole!" It is only by turning from person to Principle that this right judgment is possible. No one can do this who is considering any evil from the standpoint of appearances. To judge "righteous judgment" is only attainable as one starts with the truth, and stays with the truth. To cling steadfastly to the truth, refusing to accept as real any evil-seeming, will enable one to keep his own thinking at-one with divine Mind; and so, blessing to all must result.
It often takes the Christian Scientist long years of prayer and earnest endeavor before he learns that his only duty to his brother is to reflect good to him. It is not for him to decide how near to heaven his brother is, or as to how worthy of entrance he may be. Truth will weigh all that belongs to his brother, even as it will all that belongs to himself. Then let us hasten to help our brother as we would want him to help us, by leaving him to the judgment of Truth. Think of the freedom this will bring us! For, instead of concerning ourselves with what we might imagine were our brother's foibles and follies, we shall have time to rebuke and cast out our own! Then we shall joyously wend our way together to the heavenly city, where only that can enter which has been judged and accepted by Truth!
