Re(Tro)View: You Can't Judge Me!

You Can't Judge Me!  "Inconceivable!" Or at least so says the great thinker Vizzini.  Your are not familiar with the philosopher Vizzini?  He once said, "Never get involved in a land war in Asia!" OK, maybe you know this traveling companions Inigo Montoya and Fezzik or his foe The Dread Pirate Roberts....or maybe his captive: Princess Buttercup?  Here are their costumes (I took the picture myself).  Yes, I got to see the actual costumes this summer from the Princess Bride.  It was actually kind of a high point on my vacation this year.

If somehow you have missed seeing the movie "The Princess Bride" for the last thirty years you really must watch it.  A little hint, every time the Dread Pirate Roberts does some amazing feat the villain Vizzini shouts, "Inconceivable!"  He does this so many times that his henchman Inigo comments, "That word, I don't think it means what you think it means."

I feel the same way every time I hear the word judgement, or judgmental.  The way people react to it makes me think, "That word, I don't think it means what you think it means." You hear the phrase "who are you to judge me?" used all the time, but are we really thinking about the answer to the question? After all, what is so bad about judgement? We ask drivers to exert good judgement every time they drive. We hope our young people exert good judgement when choosing a mate. We trust our law enforcement to exercise good judgement (hopefully) in the execution of their duties. So what is wrong with exercising good discernment and rendering informed judgments?

You could make the argument that people mostly use the phrase when people are publicly judging issues that have to do with their private lives and I certainly agree that we need to tread lightly there. However, our private lives are not as private as we think they are. Decisions we make about our "personal business" have a way of rippling outward from ourselves and affecting the public. People who choose to abuse drugs are making a personal choice, but the public consequences are staggering. Parents who make the personal choice to poorly parent their children saddle society with unruly, undisciplined, lazy, selfish adults. In fact almost all of our "personal decisions" have far reaching "public consequences". Perhaps the answer to the question of "who are you to judge me?" Is simply this, "I am the person who has to live in the world partially formed by the outcomes of all your personal choices." As such I reserve the right to exercise my discernment in judging the merits of my fellow human beings' actions. In like fashion I also realize that I am also subject to the judgement of my fellow world citizens and have to be both humble about how I judge and about how I receive judgement. Jesus' admonition to "judge not lest ye be judged" dealt exclusively with the issue of eternal salvation, not social responsibility. So, judge your neighbor, but do it humbly and lovingly knowing that we are all in this together and as much as others are answerable to us for their decisions so too are we answerable to others.

I think the issue may have less to do with judging and more to do with how we do it.  Paul advises his congregants that when we detect a transgression in another we are to "restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness".  We aren't gavel wielding higher authorities who rain down judgement and condemnation. Paul advises us to remember that "for if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves."  The function of judgement is solely as a loving brother/sister who is trying to "bear one another's burdens".  In this way we exercise judgement humbly and lovingly in the best interest of our fellow believers.  Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16  My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves.All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor's work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. What is more Paul does not want the act of exercising judgement to be a source of pride or self satisfaction. He says, "All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor's work, will become a cause for pride."  If we are looking to tear our neighbors down as a means of making ourselves feel better we are not only failing to execute judgement as Christ calls us to do so, we are even distorting the truth and by extension the Gospel itself.  The exercise of good judgement exists to build up and heal our neighbors, not to tear then down so that we can feel equally good about ourselves. While the world may not understand why Christians are called to judge, we likewise may not understand what Christ means when he calls us to judge.   Inconceivable?  Hardly.  In fact I would say this is the very source of the problem.