Judge Not
This is going to be a very scattered post because I have probably ten million things to say about this and I know if it’s too long no one is going to want to read it. But I want to be real with you right now.
“Judge not.” Christ gave us this commandment directly, straight outta the Sermon on the Mount. Why? Probably for a ton of different reasons, but one of the most intimidating, in my opinion, is the one that He cites Himself. “That ye be not judged.” He goes on to explain that we’ll be measured by the same stick we hold up against others, although in prettier terms. This scripture (Matthew 7:1, by the way) could probably take up at least one post of my jots and thoughts, probably more, for all the different implications it has for us and the nuances of phrase and whatever else Christ says about judging elsewhere. But that’s not where I’m going with this right now.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve started seeing the phrase, “Let people live” a lot lately, and if it’s not me then I will admit I’ve probably been hiding under a rock to not understand where exactly it comes from on the interwebs and how many times it’s been retweeted or whatever. I’ll admit that. If it is just me, all that is probably still true, plus I’m crazy. Either way, I’ve been thinking a lot about that phrase and the commandment (not casual suggestion, mind) to not judge, and I’ve been seeing a lot and hearing a lot about how these ideas are stomped to smithereens leaving only more hurting people in the world than there were before.
So here’s my take. Jesus Christ is, of course, the perfect example of this. Ultimately, He will be the Judge. But for the moment, in the meantime, before that final day, however you want to think about it, He told people what to do, and then He “let them live.” He didn’t go around pointing fingers. He probably understood people’s situations better than we could, and He still preached true doctrine and let people make mistakes. Did He say, “Oh, that’s cool, I’m gonna sin that way too” or “Do whatever you want, man”? No, but He also didn’t say, “You’re going to hell for not being perfect right now” or “Wow, you really didn’t go to church again this week? What’s wrong with you?” Actually, the times He got really annoyed with people are when they were going around 1) preaching their own version of doctrine and 2) condemning people immediately (see some of the things He said to the Pharisees, for example).
We make assessments all the time. It’s human nature, and it’s really not a bad thing. I’m not saying to assume that everyone is a saint. You’d probably get robbed at some point in your life by so doing. I am saying that it’s really important for all of us, whether or not we profess to follow Christ, to take people as they are with as much kindness as we can muster and allow them to change, at their pace and in the way they need to, while still being safe of course. Frankly, God is working with them just as intimately and personally and lovingly as He is working with us. And we’ll make a lot more friends that way. Everyone just needs to be loved. And as Mother Theresa famously said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Since Christ did say that the second most important commandment is to love our neighbor (aka everyone), this might be something to pay attention to.
As an added bonus, I think all of us, including me, will find that withholding such judgement will also help us feel more confident and less insecure ourselves. But that’s a thought for another day.
“Judge not.” Christ gave us this commandment directly, straight outta the Sermon on the Mount. Why? Probably for a ton of different reasons, but one of the most intimidating, in my opinion, is the one that He cites Himself. “That ye be not judged.” He goes on to explain that we’ll be measured by the same stick we hold up against others, although in prettier terms. This scripture (Matthew 7:1, by the way) could probably take up at least one post of my jots and thoughts, probably more, for all the different implications it has for us and the nuances of phrase and whatever else Christ says about judging elsewhere. But that’s not where I’m going with this right now.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve started seeing the phrase, “Let people live” a lot lately, and if it’s not me then I will admit I’ve probably been hiding under a rock to not understand where exactly it comes from on the interwebs and how many times it’s been retweeted or whatever. I’ll admit that. If it is just me, all that is probably still true, plus I’m crazy. Either way, I’ve been thinking a lot about that phrase and the commandment (not casual suggestion, mind) to not judge, and I’ve been seeing a lot and hearing a lot about how these ideas are stomped to smithereens leaving only more hurting people in the world than there were before.
So here’s my take. Jesus Christ is, of course, the perfect example of this. Ultimately, He will be the Judge. But for the moment, in the meantime, before that final day, however you want to think about it, He told people what to do, and then He “let them live.” He didn’t go around pointing fingers. He probably understood people’s situations better than we could, and He still preached true doctrine and let people make mistakes. Did He say, “Oh, that’s cool, I’m gonna sin that way too” or “Do whatever you want, man”? No, but He also didn’t say, “You’re going to hell for not being perfect right now” or “Wow, you really didn’t go to church again this week? What’s wrong with you?” Actually, the times He got really annoyed with people are when they were going around 1) preaching their own version of doctrine and 2) condemning people immediately (see some of the things He said to the Pharisees, for example).
We make assessments all the time. It’s human nature, and it’s really not a bad thing. I’m not saying to assume that everyone is a saint. You’d probably get robbed at some point in your life by so doing. I am saying that it’s really important for all of us, whether or not we profess to follow Christ, to take people as they are with as much kindness as we can muster and allow them to change, at their pace and in the way they need to, while still being safe of course. Frankly, God is working with them just as intimately and personally and lovingly as He is working with us. And we’ll make a lot more friends that way. Everyone just needs to be loved. And as Mother Theresa famously said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Since Christ did say that the second most important commandment is to love our neighbor (aka everyone), this might be something to pay attention to.
As an added bonus, I think all of us, including me, will find that withholding such judgement will also help us feel more confident and less insecure ourselves. But that’s a thought for another day.
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