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Why is it that so many people just love to judge other people’s actions without knowing or understanding circumstances? It’s an amazing thing – to set yourself up as “judge and jury†before you know all the facts. Yet people do it every single day of their lives! They judge the irritated guy in the check out line, or the unresponsive cashier who looks like she has lost her best friend. They judge the teacher, the postman, the banker, the annoying driver etc. They judge constantly for any reason.
What amazes me is that people who do not know you, judge you without knowing you or your heart or your motives. I’ve always told my students that the celebrity they see on tv and in films is not who the person really is. It is obvious by much of the behavior of so called “stars†that they have their own lives to live and demons to fight. We don’t know them, yet we set ourselves up as judges by saying “oh, I like them†or “I can’t stand them.†Truth is – we don’t know them at all.
There’s a verse in the Bible that says, “Judge not – lest you be judged. For with what measure you judge others, you too will be judged.†Okay, now let me get this straight. I’m not supposed to judge people harshly because the Almighty will use the same measuring stick to judge me and my life? Forget it! I’m not going to sit in that seat. I have no right to judge anyone as no one has the right to judge me.
I heard it during the election, “Oh I hate liberals!†“Oh, I hate conservatives.†These are judgments, vast generalizations that include every liberal and every conservative. Truth is, there are some wonderful liberals out there and some wonderful conservatives. Who am I to judge your political beliefs or your morals? That’s really not up to me.
Yet quite consistently I hear people around me judging away. Amazing! As for me, I’m not going to. Biggest reason is that I don't feel comfortable doing it.
You know there’s another great moment in the Bible when the woman caught in the act of adultery is about to be stoned. First of all, you need to know the history of this moment. The men who dragged her out of her adulterous bed, saw her without clothing – according to their own laws, they broke the law by just seeing her. When they dragged her out on the street and threw her against the wall, they had every intention of stoning her – which actually was the punishment at that time for adultery. (Tough era, right!) Jesus, is sitting there quietly drawing in the sand and they come to him for his counsel. He just looks at them and says, “Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.†Hmmmmm, I guess you could hear the very uncomfortable moment of silence and then the thump thump thump as the stones begin to hit the ground one at a time and the men who were so hot to stone her suddenly figured out that they were, themselves guilty – just like her.
Actually that’s a great life lesson, whether you believe in God or not doesn’t matter. Truth is that No one has the right to sit in judgment of anyone because no one is without sin in their own life.
Anyway, that's where I sit right now -- little old non-judgmental me!
