Series 2 - Lesson 11 - Annotation 4
What is judgment? Explain "Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).
4. Judgment is an idea in God-Mind, one of man's spiritual powers, functioning as a mental faculty. As an idea, judgment is part of man's divine inheritance.
Judgment means discrimination, discernment, evaluation, choice. It is the faculty of mind by which we estimate, weigh, and measure qualities of value. Through it we evaluate the relationship of the workings of man's mind with the activity of God Mind, or universal Mind; thus understanding, the knowing quality, is awakened. Judgment is the discerning function of mind by which we are able to observe what is true and what is false, after which the will is free to act upon what the judgment has chosen.
When we judge according to the appearance, according to the standard of the world, we judge from the viewpoint of human limitation and thus we bind ourself to the limited thoughts of the outer world. When we perceive (faith), the Christ within ourself and within every other man and receive the "light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9) through the discerning power of judgment coupled with the power of love, we are able to recognize (understanding faith) the "real" that is back of every appearance. This is judging "righteous judgment."
________________________
Preceding Entry: What is righteousness as applied to Jehovah? What is righteousness as applied to manifest man?
Following Entry: What is righteous judgment and what effect does it have on the organism of the person judging righteously?
