In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Stop judging, lest you be judged.” St. Paul picks up the theme: Do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord … will manifest the motives of our hearts. The problem, of course, comes because judging is exactly what separates human beings from animals. We must judge between what is good or bad, what values we hold to be true. That was what made the idea of vegetarian sharks in th movie, Nemo, so humorous. Sharks don’t judge whether eating meat is good or not, they operate on instinct. Jesus and Paul are talking about a particular kind of judgement — judging other people. We can judge actions and behaviors as positive or negatiave but we should not judge the motives or the dignity of others. Only God can judge why someone does what they do and what motivated it. We must treat everyone as a beloved child of God even when they are behaving in a less than honorable way.
