It’s important to understand the context of a matter before you judge the conduct of another person. It’s hard if not impossible to properly judge what you don’t understand. Sometimes, a seemingly insignificant experience can drive home this priceless truth. I had one of those moments some years ago. Actually, it was the culmination of something that had been going on for a couple of months.
It all began when I attended a meeting and the project manager (PM) promised to extend the date of a particular project by a month. It was the inevitable because of all the outstanding issues that were yet unresolved. After the meeting ended and we all returned home, however, the PM failed to fulfill his promise.
Since he and I lived 300 miles apart, I repeatedly tried to contact him by e-mail and phone about the situation. But for over two months, he refused to respond to my messages. Meanwhile, engineers and architects called me daily wanting to know if they would get the additional time they had been promised.
Needless to say, I was not impressed with this person as a project manager. Neither did I regard him as a person of integrity.
A Case of Misjudgment Through Misunderstanding
Eventually, he called me. He apologized for how he had been acting. He said his supervisor and senior leaders silenced him every time he mentioned the need to revise the project schedule. Because of that, he could not fulfill his promise. These leaders were graded on execution and maintaining schedule. They were committed to not allowing any schedule slippage.
One of my close colleagues confirmed that what the PM told me was the truth. Then I understood the awkward situation he had been in. I better understood why he avoided me. My thinking toward him totally changed for the better.
Have you ever misjudged a person’s conduct because you didn’t understand the context of his behavior? Oftentimes, valid reasons exist why people act in the objectionable ways they do. That’s why it’s important that you understand a situation before you judge it. I believe that’s what Jesus had in mind when He said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24, NASB).
Many Christians cringe at the mention of that word judge. They argue that Christians should not judge. Please understand that I am not talking about judging others. I am only talking about judging conduct. One of the purposes of the Bible is to help us to make sound judgments or assessments. But we must be careful not to weigh in on the actions of others without trying to understand the context of the matter at hand.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.