As humans, we are generally judgmental people. As Christians, though, we are to have a set apart life, meaning we shouldn’t fall victim to things other people do, such as judging.
Oswald Chamber’s stated in one of his entries in “My Utmost for His Highest” that “the average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known.” Ouch.
How can that be though, since we are to be set apart from the world, and show the love of Christ? Now, please note I am not saying every Christian is judgmental, but a lot of times, we feel because we are Christians, we have the right to judge. We get an ego about ourselves, thinking we are above others because we know God and they don’t. We scoff at those who commit sins that we find so horrible, or at the way someone lives their life because it’s so different from ours. Have we really forgotten that God sees sin all on the same level, or that it probably wasn’t long ago that we were living a life of sin?
In Matthew Chapter 7 verse 1 it says, “Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.” (MSG)
Just because we are Christians, and have the Holy Spirit living in us, does not give us the right to tear down and criticize others. God is the only judge and He uses the Holy Spirit to convict in a way that is not hurtful.
As girls, I think we are extremely quick to judge. We judge those who we think are better than us; we judge those who we think our below us. We judge the girl who has the hot boyfriend or the latest fashion, or the girl who’s clothes don’t fit right or aren’t as thin as us. Of course it doesn’t help that the media is constantly shoving down our throats what is hot and what is not. We judge the girl who is known to get around in school, or the girl we know loves to party. As young Christian women, we are not to be like others. Just because a girl has something we want or lives a way we know is wrong, we are not the one to be their judge; unless of course we want someone to do the same to us.
(Please note that there is a difference between certain kinds of judgment: discernment and criticism. Discernment if a whole other topic we might cover at sometime. This is why I love The Message version of Matthew 7:1; it uses negative words like criticize and pick on. This is the kind of judgment I am talking about.)
One of my all time favorite books is Pride and Prejudice. I could read or watch the movie all the time. I am a sucker for romance as I have said before, but there is a greater lesson to learn than just love from this book. Just take a look from the title, Pride and Prejudice. Doesn't sound very romantic. The reason why is because a lot of the prejudice is going around. People begin judging each other either based on one interaction, one conversation, or gossip going around town. Its because of all these aspects, that Lizzie has such judgments against Mr. Darcy. She allows the influence of others, and a couple of interactions with him, to create a judment about him, instead of just trying to get to know him. How many of us have made those same judgments without getting to know the person?
We don’t know everyone’s situation. Someone could be acting the way they are due to learned behavior, due to needing attention or love, or because no one has told them simply it is wrong. The best thing we can do for that person is pray for them (not in a holier than thou way) and show them the love of Christ.
As we have talked about in past blogs, all these little steps can help us live a life of purity. We want to be seen as set apart from others because we have Christ living in us, and what better way to show that we are set apart than by loving those that others judge. So I encourage you to be the girl who doesn’t scoff or judge those that our different from you, or begin the have a “holier than thou” attitude towards other. Allow the love of Christ to shine through you.
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