In the verses preceding today’s gospel, Jesus says, “Stop judging, that you may not be judged.” How are we to reconcile these two passages? One seems to tell us to use our judgment (“By their fruits you will know them”), while the other seems to ask us to suspend judgment.

Was Jesus just employing hyperbole? Perhaps he didn’t really mean that we shouldn’t judge, but only that we should judge wisely. Personally, I think Jesus meant what he said. And I’m not alone. St. Francis de Sales, a Doctor of the Church, agrees. In An Introduction to the Devout Life, he writes: “Are we then never to judge our neighbors? No, never … [I]t is forbidden to men, as men, to judge one another.” According to St. Francis, “everyone has enough to do in judging himself, without presuming to judge his neighbor.” But if that’s correct, what do we make of today’s reading?

Jesus is telling us that there is a moral difference between judging persons and judging actions. When a person does something wrong, it may have been intentional. But it may have been a mistake. Or he may have had a reasonable excuse. Or he may be sick and incapable of doing the right thing. Because we can’t know, we shouldn’t assess the person’s subjective culpability. Rather, we should try to give him every benefit of the doubt. Nevertheless, the fact that he does something wrong cannot be denied. We need to distinguish right from wrong objectively, if only to know what we should and shouldn’t do.

And if we don’t have to be blind, we also don’t have to be foolish. When we notice bad behavior in others, we can take it into account. We should not entrust our valuables to a thief or our children to a negligent person. We also ought not to follow someone who preaches love but practices hate. That’s not being judgmental; it’s being prudent.

Jesus tells us to be wise but not judgmental. Although everyone should be loved, not everyone can be trusted.