We all agree that judgmentalism is wrong. We’ve all probably said something like, “The problem with judgmental people is….” Now pause. You are about to make a statement that will qualify as judgmental. You become like the enemy. Do we give ourselves and others a free pass on judging judgmental people? Or is it OK for us, because we have the moral high ground? But isn’t moral high ground the same ground a judgmental person is standing on supposedly? How can we move the conversation forward? There’s such confusion today about what is judgmental and what isn’t.
The problem is not morality. The problem is not pointing out right and wrong; it can’t be. If we live in a society, or even a family, that can’t talk about what is right and what is wrong, from global warming to lying to immigration policy to cheating, we are toast. So being judgmental cannot be reduced to not talking about right and wrong.
It seems so obvious to say this but sometimes I wonder if we are, as a society, able to talk about right and wrong anymore. It dissolves into an amorphous “what’s right for you” and “what’s right for me.” We have taken away judgmentalism, but at what cost? We end up with seemingly profound statements like, “the only thing we don’t tolerate is intolerance.” Really? We tolerate anything wrong but don’t tolerate calling anything wrong? That’s nuts.
Don’t judge others lest you too be judged.
The essence of judgmentalism is not in calling out right and wrong but in looking down at other people, considering them a lower form of humanity than yourself, or worse, dehumanizing them. And, get ready to be vulnerable, we all do it! I truly don’t believe there is a human being who has not, at one time or another, looked down at someone else. Showing contempt for and labeling other people is “normal” and it’s time we all own up. In owning up, we will become more humble, which brings us down from our place of looking down on others, or at least closing the gap.
The worst form of judgmentalism is when someone looks down at another person without seeing themselves as judgmental. Oh, how proud we feel when we do this – “I am not like them.” Our pride blinds us spilling over into another quagmire called hypocrisy. You just hit the jackpot – a judgmental hypocrite!
Look at the log in your eye, not the speck in someone else’s.
You know who we can learn from, don’t you? Jesus had this amazing way of talking about right and wrong without being judgmental. Even though he was truly qualified to look down on others, given his resume’ and all, he didn’t come across that way. “Don’t judge others lest you too be judged.” Good advice. “Look at the log in your eye, not the speck in someone else’s.” Don’t judge other simply because they sin differently than you. But above all, let’s admit we are judgmental lest we add hypocrisy to our character as well.
–Pastor Mark, the Imperfect Pastor
Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19 NKJV)
The Imperfect Pastor 