‘Do Not Judge Others’

Imperfect humans are prone to compare themselves with others and to draw conclusions about the worth of their fellowmen. Often these conclusions are based on personal preference and taste or are influenced by differing backgrounds or training.

True Christians, however, must guard against coming to view others in the wrong light. The Christian apostle Paul, when discussing the eating of food, set forth a principle that can help us to maintain balance in this important area of life. He wrote: “Let the one eating not look down on the one not eating, and let the one not eating not judge the one eating, for God has welcomed that one.”​—Rom. 14:3.

Jehovah God welcomes all who seek to do his will. Why, then, should any human look down upon or judge others on the basis of what they do in a personal way? In the case under consideration, the one eating meat in good conscience may have tended to look down upon the one not eating, considering him to be overly scrupulous, an extremist. On the other hand, the one not eating might wrongly judge the one eating meat as a violator of law, a sinner. The Christian who is balanced in such areas of life​—whether it pertains to food and drink, entertainment, clothing or the like—​realizes that he is a mere servant or slave of God and as such has no right to evaluate others on the basis of his private opinions. So when it comes to things involving personal choice or preference, he does not look down on fellow believers nor does he judge them as wrongdoers.