Judging With Equity

When I was much younger, I thought it would be really cool to be a judge. You know, just sit back and listen as both parties presented their side of the story, listen to the eyewitness accounts of what happened and then weigh all the evidence and render a verdict. My young, naive mind thought that would be the most awesome job ever. Wrong.

Seeing high-profile trials play out on television and verdicts rendered that sometimes don't appear to be correct should remind us how difficult it is to be a judge. Attorneys are paid large sums of money to present evidence in such a way as to convince others that their side of the story is the true one. The judge must then weigh all of the evidence carefully in order to make the right decision; a decision that often impacts many people. Above all, the judge must decide based on fairness and truth.

Notice what the psalmist said when he talked about God the Righteous Judge---Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth (Psalm 67:4). The psalmist is joyful in knowing that God will always judge in truth and his desire is for everyone to know the joy and peace that comes from knowing that He judges fairly--with equity. Judging with equity can only be done perfectly by the One who knows all the evidence, who always knows the whole truth and who always renders a decision that works good for all who know him.

Judging with equity is such a serious matter with God that Jesus himself warned us not to judge so that we wouldn't be judged in the same measure (Luke 6:37). He knows that we often have a limited knowledge base or we desire an outcome that is self-centered rather than truth-seeking. He knows that we are often ill-equipped to fully know the truth in any given situation or to be completely fair. To judge with equity. Like only God can.