Jesus told his followers:

1 “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4 Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye."

Matthew 7:1-5 - World English Bible

We all judge others, implicitly or explicitly, but our judgment measures our character. Do we judge harshly or with understanding, with vengeance or with mercy? After all, others will judge us as we have judged them.

Jesus told the parable of the beam to make his point. Again, he painted the story in extremes, in an absurdity that lead many scholars to believe he told a joke. How could some have a beam in his own eye without noticing it? How could someone blinded by such an obstruction take the speck of dust out of another's eye? Underneath such humor, lay his moral; prejudice blinded people and led them to judge harshly. Remove the vice and judgment would turn toward empathy.

We all judge others, for better or ill, but judgment is a two edged sword. The way we treat others reflects the way we treat ourselves and the way we encourage others to treat each other.

How do you judge others?