Schaeffer's "Tape Recorder" Thought Experiment

Dr. Francis Schaeffer quoted a portion of the apostle Paul's letter to the Romans: "Do you, my friend, pass judgment on others? You have no excuse at all, whoever you are. For when you judge others, but do the same things that they do, you condemn yourself. We know that God is right when He judges the people who do such things as these. But you, my friend, do these very things yourself for which you pass judgment on others! Do you think you will escape God's judgment?"

Schaeffer then explained the passage with the following illustration: Imagine that each baby is born into the world with an invisible tape recorder hung around his neck. Imagine further that these are very special recorders that record only when moral judgments are made. Aesthetic judgments such as "This is beautiful" are not recorded. But whenever a person makes such a statement as "She's such a gossip," or "He's so lazy," the recorder turns on, records the statement and turns off. Many times each day the recorder operates, as the person makes moral judgments about those around him, recording dozens of judgments each week, hundreds every year and thousands in a lifetime.

Then the scene shifts, and we suddenly see all the people of the world standing before God at the end of time. "God, it's not fair for You to judge me," say some. "I didn't know about Christ. "No one taught me the Ten Commandments, and I never read the Sermon on the Mount."

Then God speaks. "Very well. Since you claim not to know My laws, I will set aside My perfect standard of righteousness. Instead I will judge you on this." And as He pushes the button on the recorder, the person listens with growing horror as his own voice pours forth a stream of condemnation toward those around him..."She shouldn't be doing this." "He was wrong in that"-thousands upon thousands of moral judgments.

When the tape ends, God says, "This will be the basis of My judgment: how well have you kept the moral standards you proved that you understood by constantly applying them to those around you. Here you accused someone of lying, yet have you ever stretched the truth? You were angry at that fellow for being selfish, yet have you ever put your own interests above someone else's needs?" And every person will be silent. For no one has consistently lived up to the standard he demands of others.

As I studied Schaeffer's illustration, I realized that one of the well-known sayings of Jesus I had previously dismissed as "nice advice" was in reality an awesome warning: "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.