Whole Lot of Judging Going On

There sure is a lot of judging going on. Just spend some time on Facebook, watch the news, spend some time people watching. 

Jesus makes it pretty clear that we are not to judge, but why?

It certainly is intimidating to think about the standards by which we judge others being applied to us. That would seem to be enough to shut down all the judging, but it doesn’t.

How about some other reasons we shouldn’t judge.

We are so bad at it. We’re really bad judges. In court, the fact finder is cautioned to withhold judgment until all the evidence is in. We never have all the evidence. In fact, we jump to judgment with just a thimble full of evidence. We reach final judgment on evidence like:

1. One news story.

2. One sentence overheard or read.

3. One outfit observed.

4. One glance made.

5. One opinion heard.

6. One photo taken.

7. One mistake made.

I have said some stupid things. Ask anyone or just read my years of blogs. I go swimming every morning. I leave the house in a swimsuit, t-shirt and minimal foot ware. I hope no one who sees me is looking for legal counsel. When I need to post a photo of myself, I spend hours looking for one in which I don’t look silly, like a repeat offender or just plain judgmental. I make mistakes every day; sometimes every hour.

It’s not our job.  God is the only judge. He’s the only one with the right, all the evidence, and the perfect standard. We shouldn’t confuse judging with making life decisions. Jesus said not to judge, but he still had to call certain persons, heal some and not others. He had a small inner circle, a large circle of disciples and an even large circle of followers. Judgment is about valuation of others and not evaluation or suitability for certain purposes. It’s our job to make wise life decisions. It’s not our job to assign value to people.

It’s not about our conduct. If we use God’s standard, and why wouldn’t we, it’s not about what we have done. It’s about our relationship with the Son. No matter how much evidence you gather, you can’t reach a conclusion about that. I know that those in relationship with Jesus act better,  but actions can be deceiving. We can all put up a good front for a while. Those who are in Christ do slip up, daily.

It’s a waste of time. What do we gain from judgment? Couldn’t the time we spend judging be better spent loving?

It violates the core Kingdom principle.  The Kingdom of God is about recognizing the Lordship of Christ and recognizing his death and life is the best evidence of the worth of all. “God don’t make junk” is more than a clever bumper sticker. Jesus said we would be known by the way we love each other. Love that universal is only possible for those who recognize that everyone has worth and who recognize their own worth each day in spite of the evidence which seems to continuously pile up. To God, we are beloved. It’s Satan who calls us worthless. It’s essential that we don’t apply his standard to ourselves or to others.