To judge is to form an opinion or conclusion about.
About 2 months ago, I was in a conversation and labeled as being judgmental at the end. Initially I became defensive and refused such a label. I had a lot of time to think about it though in the following days and, thank God, came to my senses.
Unconsciously, I had become this judgmental sinner. This could be a result of various things; mainly, looking more at my self than into the lives of others. Surface-level relationships offer a breeding ground for "judgmentalism" as well. As an American, I love conclusions and I love to have the right answer. Our culture has a solution and accommodation to every situation. For example: Drive-throughs for those in a time crunch, 24-hour grocery stores for those who need a last minute item, and timed church services, down to the second, for those who have low attention spans. Being so caught up in my own individualistic American life, I hardly took the time to harbor an open mind and be consciously interested in the lives of those around me. Why take the time for understanding? Judging is so much easier.
Who am I to judge? Have I forgotten who I am? Have I forgotten that I am no better than the person to my left and to my right? If I follow a God who is willing to meet me where I am at, in my state of pure un-perfectness, then how can I judge others? If I follow a God who is unconditionally loving me, how can I turn and judge others? If I follow a God who is so caring that he actually gave his son for me, then how can I judge others?
I believe in a God who loves me just the way I am. He created me in His own image and made me perfect in that. The God that I believe in accepts me at any stage in life. He accepts me when I've blatantly disgraced his name. He accepts me when I bluntly sin and screw up day after day, and week after week, and month after month, and year after year. There is no way that I will ever meet perfection, but that doesn't matter to God. In reality, I am not worthy of God's love and acceptance. Whatever I do and whenever I do it, God is always there with open arms calling me back to Him.
If this is the God who I believe in and follow, how in the world could I treat anyone else differently than how He is endlessly treating me? I don't even want to imagine a moment in which God does not exercise His endless love and forgiveness. I would be screwed. It is not my role to judge others or to form conclusions about the lives and actions of others. Judging is extremely easy and fast, but completely not worth it.
As a believer, in a relationship with Christ, I daily deal with the consequences of judgment. I feel like I'm continuously striving to dispel the many stereotypes and beliefs that become baggage to the term of "American Christianity." Many things happen in the Church that have nothing to do with who God is and don't represent God in a rightful way. These things stay in the light and get tagged to the name of Christianity. Therefore, these things are tagged to me as I identify myself as a Christian. I despise being judged. Why judge others?
For the past two months, I have been trying to work on this. Being abroad only adds to the ability to aim for this even more. There is no way that a person's heart, mind, and soul can be apparent enough and transparent enough for anyone to judge them. That is a position that only God has.
I believe the world would change if we would manifest the initial roles that God has created for us in this world and allow God to be the ultimate commander, chief, king, and sovereign judge.
I strive to fight my nasty inclination and sinful nature to judge. Will you join me?
About 2 months ago, I was in a conversation and labeled as being judgmental at the end. Initially I became defensive and refused such a label. I had a lot of time to think about it though in the following days and, thank God, came to my senses.
Unconsciously, I had become this judgmental sinner. This could be a result of various things; mainly, looking more at my self than into the lives of others. Surface-level relationships offer a breeding ground for "judgmentalism" as well. As an American, I love conclusions and I love to have the right answer. Our culture has a solution and accommodation to every situation. For example: Drive-throughs for those in a time crunch, 24-hour grocery stores for those who need a last minute item, and timed church services, down to the second, for those who have low attention spans. Being so caught up in my own individualistic American life, I hardly took the time to harbor an open mind and be consciously interested in the lives of those around me. Why take the time for understanding? Judging is so much easier.
Who am I to judge? Have I forgotten who I am? Have I forgotten that I am no better than the person to my left and to my right? If I follow a God who is willing to meet me where I am at, in my state of pure un-perfectness, then how can I judge others? If I follow a God who is unconditionally loving me, how can I turn and judge others? If I follow a God who is so caring that he actually gave his son for me, then how can I judge others?
I believe in a God who loves me just the way I am. He created me in His own image and made me perfect in that. The God that I believe in accepts me at any stage in life. He accepts me when I've blatantly disgraced his name. He accepts me when I bluntly sin and screw up day after day, and week after week, and month after month, and year after year. There is no way that I will ever meet perfection, but that doesn't matter to God. In reality, I am not worthy of God's love and acceptance. Whatever I do and whenever I do it, God is always there with open arms calling me back to Him.
If this is the God who I believe in and follow, how in the world could I treat anyone else differently than how He is endlessly treating me? I don't even want to imagine a moment in which God does not exercise His endless love and forgiveness. I would be screwed. It is not my role to judge others or to form conclusions about the lives and actions of others. Judging is extremely easy and fast, but completely not worth it.
As a believer, in a relationship with Christ, I daily deal with the consequences of judgment. I feel like I'm continuously striving to dispel the many stereotypes and beliefs that become baggage to the term of "American Christianity." Many things happen in the Church that have nothing to do with who God is and don't represent God in a rightful way. These things stay in the light and get tagged to the name of Christianity. Therefore, these things are tagged to me as I identify myself as a Christian. I despise being judged. Why judge others?
For the past two months, I have been trying to work on this. Being abroad only adds to the ability to aim for this even more. There is no way that a person's heart, mind, and soul can be apparent enough and transparent enough for anyone to judge them. That is a position that only God has.
I believe the world would change if we would manifest the initial roles that God has created for us in this world and allow God to be the ultimate commander, chief, king, and sovereign judge.
I strive to fight my nasty inclination and sinful nature to judge. Will you join me?
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