Judge Not?!?

Matthew 7:1 (KJV)
Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Luke 6:37 (KJV)
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

John 7:24 (KJV)
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Bulldog's rewording:
Avoid judging by appearances, this leads to prejudice.

Judge Not?!?

Okay, this is probably one of the most frequently used bible quotes: "Judge not, lest ye be judged." What should this mean to me as a Christian?

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Judge not ... - This command refers to rash, censorious, and unjust judgment. See Rom_2:1. Luke Luk_6:37 explains it in the sense of “condemning.” Christ does not condemn judging as a magistrate, for that, when according to justice, is lawful and necessary. Nor does he condemn our “forming an opinion” of the conduct of others, for it is impossible “not” to form an opinion of conduct that we know to be evil. But what he refers to is a habit of forming a judgment hastily, harshly, and without an allowance for every palliating circumstance, and a habit of “expressing” such an opinion harshly and unnecessarily when formed. It rather refers to private judgment than “judicial,” and perhaps primarily to the customs of the scribes and Pharisees.

When I chose this topic I began with the idea in mind that we should avoid being judgemental to others, because I know from personal experience how hurtful it can be to know others are speaking or thinking badly of you. I tend to feel indignant towards the hypocrasy of many church-goers who profess to love their neighbor, yet who quickly fall into the temptation of talking poorly of them behind their backs, or worse yet to their faces. It goes back to the high school mentality of forming "clicks" and judging by appearances. Many people have used the term "cookie cutter Christian" to embody the many Christians who tend to come off as "elitest" or "holier than thou" when they themselves are no perfect person.

Matthew 7

04 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
05 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

These verses give me a sense of indignation and righteous anger, yet during my bible search, God touched my heart and humbled me with the following scripture!

Romans 14

01 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
02 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
03 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
04 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
05 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
06 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
07 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
08 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
09 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
10 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.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Bulldog's summarization:

Whew, that was a mouthful! To sum up, in a group of people, there will always be differences of opinions. As Christians, we need to be accepting of others and avoid being argumentative and hurtful. This chapter is mainly about the liberty we have as Christians and how we should temper or restrict that liberty with good judgment so as not to cause others to misjudge us or to question their own faith. I have always struggled with feelings of resentment for those who have hastily judged me poorly, however, now I feel humbled by the fact that I am held responsible for conducting myself in a manner that will not cause others to jump to such judgement.

I hope that as I am, you also will be left with a lot to think about. Please, feel free to comment.