And then it came, “Who are you to judge?” and then the follow-up, “Doesn’t the Bible say not to judge?” I guess I knew it was coming because it is one of the standard reactions I get when I disagree about something and say so. Oh, and I should say, this was from a person who is a church-goer… not your average run-of-the-mill unsaved types. This attitude generally accompanies the wrong idea about love as a Christian. But really, it is a wrong understanding of God at the core. God is just, and being just He cannot simply ignore sin and a sinful lifestyle. Oh, yes, there is love, GREAT LOVE… but this does not exclude the whole of who God is, including just. That concept of "Do not judge" is an Americanized corruption of what the Bible tells us. This version of do not judge is a silencing tactic. If you are standing against the current social tide of just about everything and say anything, you are judging and you are a hater. So this term is thrown at you to make you go silent, not because you are doing something wrong but to simply silence you. In the same context of Jesus saying do not judge, Jesus also said to "do not cast pearls before swine" (Matthew 7:6), which, would require judgment. We are told to not judge whether we think someone is going to heaven or not. We are also warned to not judge in a way that we would not like to have the same judgment levied on ourselves. (Luke 6:38) In fact, Jesus said that we are to judge, but it must be righteous judgment. (John 7:24) Which would mean not judging according to outward appearances, not judging according to our biases or cultural views, or judging without knowing the whole story. Besides, I was not judging. We were discussing a hotly debated topic in American society. I said that I believed that the people in question were living a dangerous and destructive lifestyle. It is not judging to recognize something is destructive, nor is it judging because I say something about it. If you engage me in a conversation, I should be allowed to speak in the same way I allow you to speak. If you attempt to silence me by using volatile terms like homophobic or bigot, you are the one who is judging. There are some things that, despite current cultural acceptance, God has clearly said are wrong. If I point those out, it is not judging. In the world marketplace, everyone is advancing what they believe to be truth, including the ones who claim there is no truth. I am in that marketplace talking. I will give you space to speak, I only ask that you give me the same consideration.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 17:09:08 +0000
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