In Luke we read (6: 37-41): "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. . . . For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. . . . And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"
Thus did the great Way-shower, Christ Jesus, warn his followers concerning the evil of unjust or malicious criticism. Although Jesus himself frequently rebuked such unchristian traits as hatred, selfishness, false pride, or sensuality, his motive in so doing was always to bless and heal. Never did the loving Master's censure of evil involve condemnation of person, nor was it prompted by self-righteousness or resentment. His pointed denouncements of sin were based on his spiritual understanding of God's infinite perfection and goodness, of man's eternal, inviolable status as a child of God, and of evil's utter unreality. Such an understanding qualified Jesus always to judge correctly the false belief which needed to be denied and cast out of thought.
Human experience confirms the fact maintained by Christian Science that censorious judgment of others from the limited, unreliable standpoint of material sense not only fails to heal or improve the problems of personal relationship, but has often a detrimental effect on the individual harboring the false concepts fostered by this sense.
