and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
We are called to imitate Jesus who loves us while we are enemies and dies for us while we are yet sinners (cf. Rom. 5:8). We aren't supposed to be keeping a running tally of people who are worthy of our help or who have earned it. If God kept such a tally for us we would never measure up. We are called to avoid all judgment of this sort.
Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Yet we must judge actions. Some are good and some are bad. But sometimes we judge people as unworthy of our love. And this is the sort of judgment which is wrong, the sort which Jesus condemns. It is, in fact, sinful. This is precisely the sort of judgment that prevents us from "admonishing" one another in a way that is actually helpful and positive.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
There is a sense in which this is also judgment. This is not the sort of judgment that is condemned. This is actually commended and even commanded because the motive is clearly love. It is a desire to include. It does not stem from hatred for the other person or the desire to absolve ourselves of responsibility for them because we deem them to be, somehow, unworthy. The prohibition on judgment is usually something we use to absolve ourselves of our responsibility for others. But we are our brother's keeper. We must go to every reasonable length we can to help them when they are doing things which hurt themselves and others. We cannot force anyone to listen just as God, ultimately, does not force us. But we must make every effort.
If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector (cf. Mat. 18:15-17).
So no more letting ourselves off the hook for others. We engage in all sorts of speculation about the motives of others, and often it is only so we don't have to say something to them which we know we ought to say. We justify the motives they have for the things they do, not out of charity, but so that we can stay out of it. Which is not to say that every word of criticism is helpful. It is just to say that our motive must be love. Our discernment must be guided by the word of Christ dwelling richly in us and teaching us the Spirit's wisdom.
We want God to give us these insights into our own inner workings because we have the tendency to fool ourselves whenever possible. And if we really want it for ourselves we must be open to becoming channels of this grace to others.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.
When we are open the world is transformed and we are made able to praise God with all of our heart, mind, and strength.
Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,
praise him in the firmament of his strength.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him for his sovereign majesty.
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