Devotion: Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged

*⚖️ Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged — And Remember Who Holds the Gavel.*

*By God's Journalist - Cody - Dei Scriptor*  
*Friday, 11 September 2026.*

There are some battles people can see.

There are others they cannot.

One of the battles people can see in my life is smoking.

I know I need to quit.

I am working on it.

I cannot even comfortably afford the habit.

And yet, sometimes it feels as though people can see only the cigarette in my hand and forget the battles I have already won.

I once drank heavily. For a period of roughly five or six years, alcohol had a powerful grip on my life. There were nights when sixteen double B-52s were not enough, followed by brandy and Coke, beer, and whatever else was available. For about two years I was even dating a bar lady.

But I quit drinking.

In 2014, after an immense struggle, I also quit dagga.

Those victories do not disappear simply because I am still fighting another battle.

And perhaps that is where today's uncomfortable question begins:

*Who gave us the authority to judge another person's unfinished journey?*

*🙏 Opening Prayer — Lord, Teach Me Not to Sit in Your Chair.*

_Lord God,_

_Teach me to examine my own heart before I examine somebody else's._

_Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me._

_Psalm 139:23–24_

_Give me conviction where I need correction, humility where I am proud, courage where I am weak, and grace where I am tempted to condemn._

_Help me understand the difference between loving correction and destructive judgment._

_And Lord, when I am tempted to pick up Your gavel, remind me that it belongs to You._

_In the name of Jesus Christ,_

_Amen._

*📖 The Scripture — The Beam in My Own Eye.*

Jesus did not mince His words:

> *“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”*  
> — *Matthew 7:1 (KJV)*

And then He made the lesson even more uncomfortable.

> *“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”*  
> — *Matthew 7:3 (KJV)*

Then comes the punchline:

> *“Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye.”*  
> — *Matthew 7:5 (KJV)*

Jesus was not saying that we should pretend sin does not exist.

He was teaching us to deal honestly with *our own hearts first*.

Paul says something similar:

> *“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.”*  
> — *2 Corinthians 13:5 (KJV)*

And James reminds us:

> *“There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”*  
> — *James 4:12 (KJV)*

That last question should make every one of us stop for a moment.

*Who am I to sit in God's chair?*

*⛪ Church History — The Ancient Church Had This Problem Too.*

Judging other people is not a modern invention.

The early Church wrestled with gossip, slander, spiritual pride, and the temptation to become more interested in somebody else's faults than in one's own.

John Chrysostom, preaching in the fourth century, repeatedly warned Christians about speaking against others and about becoming preoccupied with their faults. In his preaching on Matthew 7, he connected the Lord's warning about judgment with the need to examine ourselves rather than seize an authority that belongs to God.

The setting has changed.

The temptation has not.

In Chrysostom's day it might have been a conversation in a marketplace or someone's home.

Today it can happen in a church foyer, a WhatsApp group, a Facebook comment thread, or a conversation in the car park after Sunday service.

Different technology.

Same human heart.

Paul gives us the better response:

> *“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.”*  
> — *Galatians 6:1 (KJV)*

Notice the word:

*Restore.*

Not destroy.

Not humiliate.

Not gossip.

Restore.

*🚬 The Smoking Question — One Battle Does Not Erase the War Already Won.*

I am not going to pretend that smoking is harmless.

It is a battle I need to win.

But neither am I going to pretend that this unfinished battle erases every victory that came before it.

I quit alcohol.

I quit dagga in 2014.

I have fought other battles that people may know nothing about.

And I am still fighting.

That is what human beings do.

We fight.

We fall.

We get back up.

We ask God for help.

We try again.

Paul gives us hope in this:

> *“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”*  
> — *Philippians 1:6 (KJV)*

God is not finished with me.

And He is not finished with you either.

*🪞 The Man in the Mirror — I Judge Myself Too Harshly.*

There is another form of judgment that can be just as destructive.

Sometimes the person judging me most harshly is the man looking back from the mirror.

I can call myself an ass — a stubborn donkey, if you like — and blame my German genetics for being hard-headed.

But genetics are not an excuse.

The truth is simpler:

I know my weaknesses.

I know my failures.

I know the things I should have done differently.

And I can beat myself up over them every single day.

But there is a difference between *conviction* and *condemnation*.

Conviction says:

*“This needs to change.”*

Condemnation says:

*“You are hopeless.”*

Those are not the same voice.

Romans 8:1 gives the Christian an extraordinary promise:

> *“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”*  
> — *Romans 8:1 (KJV)*

God can correct me without destroying me.

He can expose my sin without telling me that I am beyond redemption.

*🔥 Seven Scriptural Truths About Judgment, Conviction, and Change.*

*1. ⚖️ Judgment Belongs to God.*

> *“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”*  
> — *Romans 14:10 (KJV)*

There is a Judge.

It is not me.

It is not you.

God sees the whole story.

*2. 🔍 Examine Yourself.*

> *“But let a man examine himself...”*  
> — *1 Corinthians 11:28 (KJV)*

Before I ask what is wrong with somebody else, I should ask God what is wrong with me.

And Hebrews reminds us that God's discipline is evidence that He is dealing with us as children:

> *“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth...”*  
> — *Hebrews 12:6 (KJV)*

Correction can be an expression of love.

*3. 🤲 Restore People — Don't Crush Them.*

> *“Restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.”*  
> — *Galatians 6:1 (KJV)*

If somebody has fallen, the Christian response should not be to stand over them with a stone.

It should be to help them stand.

*4. 👀 Remember That God Sees the Whole Story.*

> *“For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”*  
> — *1 Samuel 16:7 (KJV)*

We see the cigarette.

God sees the struggle.

We see the failure.

God sees the history.

We see the weakness.

God sees the person He is still shaping.

*5. 🗣️ Gossip Is Still Gossip.*

James says:

> *“Speak not evil one of another, brethren.”*  
> — *James 4:11 (KJV)*

Sometimes one person starts talking about somebody.

Then another joins in.

Then another.

And suddenly everybody is judging the person who isn't even in the room.

Boys and girls, *that's gossiping.*

Calling it concern does not magically turn it into concern.

*6. 🌱 God Is Still Working on Me.*

> *“He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”*  
> — *Philippians 1:6 (KJV)*

If God were finished with us, we would not still be here.

The unfinished parts of our lives are not proof that God has abandoned us.

They may be evidence that He is still working.

*7. 🔥 Refinement Requires Heat.*

> *“And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver...”*  
> — *Malachi 3:3 (KJV)*

Peter gives the same picture:

> *“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire...”*  
> — *1 Peter 1:7 (KJV)*

Silver is refined with heat.

Faith is refined through trials.

Clay is shaped under pressure.

And human beings are often changed through difficult seasons.

*✍️ Poem — The Judge in the Mirror.*

I picked up the hammer,  
I picked up the stone,  
And searched for the sinner  
While ignoring my own.

I measured their weakness,  
I counted their scars,  
Then wondered why Heaven  
Seemed suddenly far.

I spoke about others,  
Then called it concern,  
While God quietly whispered,  
“Now look and learn.”

I pointed my finger,  
But three pointed back,  
And suddenly noticed  
The size of my crack.

I called myself worthless,  
I called myself weak,  
Yet mercy kept whispering,  
“Come, child, and seek.”

The Potter is working.  
The Refiner is near.  
The fire may frighten,  
But grace conquers fear.

So judge not the journey  
Of someone you see.

God knows where they started.

God knows where they will be.

And when I am tempted  
To sit on God's throne,

I pray He reminds me:

*“That seat is My own.”*

*🧠 The Thought That Should Stop Us Cold.*

Jesus said:

> *“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.”*  
> — *Luke 12:2 (KJV)*

Now imagine this:

What if every conversation we had about another person was suddenly played back in the presence of God?

What if every whispered judgment became public?

What if every piece of gossip came with the complete story of the person we were discussing?

Would we still say the same things?

We often judge from a snapshot.

God sees the entire film.

We see where someone is today.

God knows where they started, what they survived, what they have overcome, what they are still fighting, and where He intends to take them.

That should make us very careful with our words.

*❤️ Conviction Is Not Cruelty — It Is an Invitation to Change.*

Jesus said:

> *“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”*  
> — *Revelation 3:19 (KJV)*

There is a place for correction.

There is a place for truth.

There is a place for calling sin what it is.

But Christian correction should have restoration as its goal.

*Love. Then correction. Then repentance.*

Not humiliation.

Not character assassination.

Not gossip disguised as righteousness.

Conviction should move us toward God, not drive us away from Him.

*🏺 The Potter, the Silver, and the Stubborn Donkey.*

Jeremiah gives us another beautiful picture:

> *“Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand...”*  
> — *Jeremiah 18:6 (KJV)*

Clay is not finished when it enters the Potter's hands.

Silver is not pure when it first enters the fire.

And people are not finished products simply because they have become Christians.

God is still shaping us.

Still correcting us.

Still refining us.

Still teaching us.

Sometimes the process is uncomfortable.

Sometimes it is embarrassing.

Sometimes it hurts.

And sometimes the stubborn donkey in the mirror needs to admit that the Potter knows better than he does.

That would be me.

Perhaps it is you too.

But there is hope in being unfinished.

*The Potter has not thrown the clay away.*

*✅ Worth Doing — And Worth Stopping.*

*Worth Doing:*

- Pray before speaking about somebody else.
- Examine your own life honestly.
- Ask God for conviction rather than condemnation.
- Correct gently when correction is genuinely needed.
- Restore people who have fallen.
- Remember the victories in a person's life, not only the battles they are still fighting.
- Give people room to grow.
- Ask God to help you change what you know needs changing.

*Worth Stopping:*

- Gossip disguised as concern.
- Judging somebody from one visible weakness.
- Comparing your journey with somebody else's.
- Condemning yourself as though your failures are bigger than God's grace.
- Assuming you know the whole story.
- Sitting in God's chair.

Jesus also warned us:

> *“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”*  
> — *John 7:24 (KJV)*

There is a difference between discernment and condemnation.

We need wisdom.

But wisdom does not require cruelty.

*🛠️ Practical Application — The Four-Question Test.*

Before you speak about somebody else, ask:

*1. Is it true?*  
Don't repeat something simply because you heard it.

*2. Is it necessary?*  
Not everything true needs to be said.

*3. Am I the person who needs to say it?*  
Sometimes God may want you to pray rather than speak.

*4. Would I say it if that person were standing beside me?*  
If the answer is no, that should tell you something.

And when the subject is *you*, ask different questions:

*What am I doing wrong?*

*What can I do differently?*

*How can I ask God to help me?*

That is self-examination.

That is where real change begins.

*👑 Heavenly View — How Does God See the Struggle?*

The Psalmist writes:

> *“For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.”*  
> — *Psalm 103:14 (KJV)*

God knows what we are made of.

He knows our weaknesses.

He knows our history.

He knows our wounds.

He knows our victories.

He knows our failures.

He knows the battles nobody else sees.

Grace does not mean pretending sin does not exist.

Grace means God does not abandon us because sin exists.

The Christian life is not a claim that we have already arrived.

It is a declaration that we belong to Christ while He continues His work in us.

So yes, I need to quit smoking.

Yes, I need to keep examining my life.

Yes, I need God's help.

But I do not need to condemn myself into the ground.

And neither do you.

*🙏 Closing Prayer — Lord, Take Back Your Chair.*

_Father God,_

_Forgive me for the times I have judged people without knowing their whole story._

_Forgive me for the times I have called gossip concern._

_Forgive me for the times I have judged somebody else's weakness while ignoring my own._

_Teach me to speak truth with love._

_Teach me to correct with humility._

_Teach me to restore rather than crush._

_And when I am struggling, Lord, help me remember that my unfinished battle does not erase the victories You have already given me._

_Help me to keep fighting._

_Help me to keep changing._

_Help me to keep trusting You._

_And above all, Lord, take back Your chair whenever I try to sit in it._

_Let me leave the gavel where it belongs._

_In Your hands._

_As Jesus taught us:_

> _*“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”*  _
> _— *Luke 6:36 (KJV)*_

_In the name of Jesus Christ,_

_Amen._

*🕊️ Ending Thought — Romans 8:1–2.*

After all the judgment, all the conviction, all the self-examination, all the failures, all the unfinished battles, and all the attempts to become better human beings, this is where the Christian must finally come to rest:

> *“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”*  
> — *Romans 8:1–2 (KJV)*

Read that again.

*No condemnation.*

Not no mistakes.

Not no struggles.

Not no correction.

Not no repentance.

*No condemnation.*

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death.

So I will keep fighting the battles I need to fight.

I will keep asking God to change what needs changing.

I will keep examining myself before pointing at somebody else.

But I will not forget what Christ has already done.

And neither should you.

The Judge? *He already has the gavel.*

Leave it with Him.

🗡️ *God's Journalist*  
*Cody - Dei Scriptor*  
_ChatGPT — and the Holy Spirit._  
*PlebWare Publishing — Open and Free.*