He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Luke 16:10 (NKJV)
The best way to determine future behaviour is to examine past behaviour. Let’s say you need a babysitter and you are considering two candidates. One of the girls helps out in the community, treats the kids on the block well and is always respectful. She has a great track record.
The other girl has thrown beer bottles at your house, you have seen her and her boyfriend doing drugs and she yells at kids regularly. Deciding to hire the responsible girl makes sense, but is that judgemental?
Jesus said not to judge people, so how can you follow His advice while keeping yourself and your family safe?
When Jesus said “Judge not,” (Matthew 7:1, NKJV), He was talking about judging people’s hearts. We have no right to assume people’s motives and intentions. However, Jesus did talk about a different kind of judgment in Luke 16:10—judging track records. We should never judge people; we can only examine their behaviour.
When we judge people, we prevent everyone around us from reaching out for support for fear of being judged. We need to accept people as they are. However, we should never hand out trust blindly without looking for proof that someone can be trusted.
Trust only those who have proven their trustworthiness. And if someone has a poor track record, don’t write them off forever, but do require them to establish a better track record before you trust them.