Judgement Wednesday

I saw a Facebook post recently that said, "Don't judge me!! You don't know me!!" First of all, why shouldn't I judge you? And secondly, why do I need to know you extremely well to make a judgment about you?

You see, judgment happens all the time. And it should. It's not inherently bad; it's actually meant to be useful. Judgment is also usually seen as a one-way road when really it goes two ways. For example, let's take appearances. I talk about this more in depth in a different article. When you show up to a job interview for a professional position in sweat pants and a wife beater and your name isn't Will Smith (Pursuit of Happyness), what are you communicating to your potential employer? It's NOT that you can show that you're a professional. It's NOT that you respect that employer, position, or company enough to wear nice clothes. It says a lot of things, but it doesn't say that you're very deserving of that job.

Most job interviews are over in the first 2 minutes after meeting the applicant. You get a sense of who they are; you're making a judgment call. For employment, this is necessary. Should you just hire the first person to walk through the door so you can avoid judging the other applicants? No. You need to judge the possible employees according to certain criteria that best fits your company.

That's the same with a lot of things in life. So instead of trying to avoid judging for judgments sake, we need to learn the best way to judge people/things. Maybe some scriptures would help.

This one is found in Moses 6:61:

"Therefore it is given to abide in you; the ^arecord of heaven; the ^bComforter; the ^cpeaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all ^dpower according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment."


This scripture isn't found in the Bible, but in a book called the Pearl of Great Price. This book contains other teachings of Abraham and Moses. It's a great book, and it's small. Definitely worth the read. It's saying the Spirit, or the Comforter, has all power to make righteous judgments so let it 'abide in you.' That way you, too, can make correct judgments.

Here's one found in the Bible, John 7:24 to be exact:


"Judge not according to ^bthe ^cappearance, but judge righteous judgment."

This is a commandment, not just a suggestion. We are to judge righteously - commandment. But why should we be forced to judge? Why can't we just live life without judging anything or anyone ever? You already judge people, things, events, etc. Maybe you just don't think of it as judging.

For example, let's say you have a 10-year old boy. You decide to go to the park with your family. Over in the corner of the playground, you see a bunch of boys who go to your sons' school. They are throwing litter, pushing other kids to the ground, and shouting vulgar words and phrases. You see your son look at them and start to walk over to where they are. Do you:

A) Call your son back; there's no way he's going over there
B) Let your son go; who's to say they're not good boys?
C) Quickly ask your spouse to make a decision on whether or not he should go over there
D) Other, including you don't prefer to address the situation

If you've chosen any of these answers, you've just made a judgement. You're judging the group of boys, you're judging your son, and you may even be judging the rest of the people around them. You're judging the situation and you're making an educated, informed, possibly emotional decision on whether or not to let your son hang out with those boys. It's necessary; you need to look out for the well-being of your child, do you not? You need to make a judgement call.

So I can judge you just like you can judge me. You can even judge me for the way I judge you. In turn I can judge you for how you judge me judging you. This took a bad turn. The point is that making judgments isn't inherently a bad thing.

It's like a brick. A brick isn't inherently good or bad. It can be used for both, but it's not normally either. You can pick up a brick and throw it at someone's house. That's bad. You can use it along with many others to build a hospital. That's good. The brick doesn't care, though; it's just a brick.

Judging isn't necessarily good or bad. It can be used for both, but it's just there. Use it for the good of your family and friends as well as for your own sake. But realize others are going to do it to you, too. Maybe realizing this will help you make some changes in your life so you're not judged in a way you don't want to be judged. It can be very motivating.

Now DO IT or you're a big fat loser! (just kidding) =)