Wednesday 13 April 2022

Thou Shall Not Judge

 

Jesus said: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged". Luke 6:37

But is this really possible? We all judge one another and we are judged. By judging other people we form an opinion of who is good and who is bad. Who we can befriend, and who we should avoid. We all meet many people throughout life, in the street, in shops, at work, in church, in the pub or wherever. Whenever we meet people we sub-consciously judge them and form an opinion as to whether we like them or not.

That's how the world turns. That's what dating is all about. That's life. Meeting, forming an opinion, getting closer or further away from an individual, being friendly or not.

There are many criterias to judging people. (Criteria is already the plural of criterion - get your grammar right!).

As I was saying before I interrupted myself. There are many criteria to judging people. Some judge by the way you speak grammatically and don't split the infinitive like, "To boldly go where no one has gone before!"

Others judge people by their accents. By their looks or by their clothes. Some judge others by their backgrounds, education, race, colour, professions, religion, whether they smoke or drink or not, by their marital status, and many other criteria which feed our sense of discrimination and prejudices.

I think one way we should judge people is by their criminal record. When I was young and dating pretty ladies I always asked them straight-away, "Have you got a criminal record?" Everyone of them avoided me from then on. One even slapped my face. I don't know why.

Eventually, I dated a lady in prison. It didn't last long. She was a prison warden and did not like my character. She was obviously judgemental about something or other.

These days I have grown up and matured. I am now much wiser and only judge people by their distance. The further away they are from me the more I like them.

Take the mother-in-law for instance! She lives 150 miles away. I like her very much from that distance. I would like her even more if she moved further away. I would definitely love her even more than that if she moved to another country or continent altogether. It's like loving the sun from afar. No one wants the warmth of the sun only inches away from them!

So you see ... judging others is good. We all judge and we are all judged.

I wonder how God would judge me?

What do you think?

30 comments:

  1. Dearest Victor,
    Oh Lord have MERCY! Let's hope he DOES when judging us in the end.
    Of course we cannot love all people equally, nor let them in our daily life. There is no space, nor time for that!
    But respect we can maintain from a distance as well.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Mariette. That's true. We cannot possibly love all people equally. It is human nature that we all have different opinions, views and tastes. That is why we choose between one thing and another, one style and another, or one person and another.

      I agree with your view. God bless.

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  2. Goodness! Me! Victor! I could have written
    this myself..Bless! :).
    I asked a girl once..did you have a criminal
    record..she said yes! "I have 'Don't Stand So
    Close To Me' by The Police"..! :).

    And..I used to say "Take my Mother~In~Law..
    PLEASE..! Please..!
    And..As for Mother~In~Law jokes..there are
    millions! :).

    Let's get down to the issue in hand..Judging
    people..I would'nt use the word 'judge', it's
    bit to heavy..l've always been fortunate, that
    when knowing/meeting a person, for the first
    time..within the first five minutes l know that
    person in~side~out, and whether or not they will
    become and remain a friend..have'nt been wrong
    yet..! We have a saying in Sicily..'Mano a Mano,
    Faccia a Faccia' 'Hand to Hand, Face to Face'...
    Basically taking someone at face value..!

    I judge myself to..
    "I'm the best there is, the best there was and the
    best there ever will be". Amen! :).

    And..Victor..God will judge 'you' fairly l'm sure...
    As long as you don't keep burning pizza's..! :O).
    🥂 ☃️ 🎊 🎉 😘 ❤ 🍾 ☃️ 🎉 😘 🥂 🍾 ☃️ 🎊

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The thing is, we all have our likes and dislikes and we do judge, or decide for ourselves, whether we would get on with someone or not. It's human nature.

      God bless, Willie.

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  3. It is only God Who sees the whole picture of who we really are, and every day of our lives is written in His book before even one of them was formed. He understands we are in the flesh and have a carnal mind, and that is why we are gradually changed through all our experiences and go through many things in this world. There is a time for everything, even change in the way we think. God bless you with all He has for us in Jesus.

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    Replies
    1. I guess judging people is part of our nature.

      God bless, Brenda.

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    2. Yes, part of our 'human' nature.

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  4. ...there sure are a lot of judgmental people out there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's true, they all judge me and agree that I am wonderful.

      God bless you, Tom.

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  5. I think that judging is part of our human nature. The best we can do is acknowledge that and try to do better.

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    1. I agree and acknowledge my nature, Kathy. But why should I try to do better? I am perfect already!

      God bless always.

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    2. How! Can you be perfect..HeHe! :).
      You keep burning pizza's..! :O).

      Delete
  6. It is VERY hard to stop our human nature from some judgmental acts. The problem we have is not expressing them, voicing and hurting people DOES get us JUDGED?
    Now about you...... We like your MIL, BTW once you moved her all the way over here, she said YOU even look better,,,,...... just sayin'. Imma 'fraid to think what God thinks of you! ;-)

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    1. You said it so well, Jack. By expressing our judgement, or not expressing our judgements, we get judged ourselves and we are called prejudiced. I am devoid of all prejudice and keep everyone at a distance until they prove they are worthy of my friendship.

      Like my MIL; often times I have offered her a one-way vacation ticket to anywhere in the world or beyond. She refuses.

      I wonder what God thinks of me. At least He knows I love my MIL and offer her vacations.

      God bless you and yours always.

      Delete
  7. "There are many criterias to judging people ... " Now again, you would be told that your "grandma" stinks ha-ha

    ReplyDelete
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    1. You made me smile, Ladka. You remembered that my "grandma" stinks of lavender and pot-pourri.

      God bless you, my friend.

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  8. Judging, we all do it but we should try and do better.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Yep, I should learn to judge people better and keep them at bay.

      God bless you, Bill. Keep smiling.

      Delete
  9. Maybe, a better term for judging others would be to assess their characters as to be of good or bad influence for us. We can't help doing this and we really need to be discerning when it comes to the people with whom we wish to associate. However, that doesn't get us off the hook when it comes to treating them respectfully and lovingly as a child of God.
    Blessings, Victor!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good point, Martha. What is the difference between judging and an inert prejudice that cannot be logically explained?

      For example, some people would feel uneasy about someone with tattoos, or a particular hairstyle, or clothing! It cannot be explained; perhaps a bad experience from the past when they met someone with tattoos or whatever. It could be anything.

      Would it be a sin to judge in such circumstances and keep one's distance from such individuals?

      God bless.

      Delete
  10. Martha's right, of course. Discerning is such a softer way of putting it. Your response gives way to a whole 'nother train of thought! I wonder how many aversions I carry for reasons I can't explain.

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    1. Often our prejudices, or judgements, are unexplainable. If I were to go and see a doctor or a lawyer and he had tattoos or ear rings and other piercings all over the place, I would not feel comfortable.

      God bless, Mevely.

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  11. Yes, we do all judge and of course we are all judged.
    It seems to be a part of who we are, but of course it is not always right to judge on a first meeting!

    Have a happy Thursday.

    All the best Jan

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    Replies
    1. First impressions often stay with us a long time, don't they?

      Best wishes always, Jan. God bless.

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  12. G-d does tell us to use sound discretion and judgment as well as telling us not to be judgmental.

    Mostly i think this has to do with being careful to realize that we are capable of the same sins we see in others and not to judge them harshly. That doesn't mean we have to continue to have relationships with people who cause us harm. We can understand their pain, sympathize with their weakness, realize they are in sin and not repenting, forgive them, and yet use wise judgment to keep our distance and not let that person hurt us again.

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    1. I agree Mimi; well said. Our discretion or judgements can help us decide whether to continue a relationship or not.

      God bless.

      Delete
  13. He would judge you as fairly as he judges everyone else.

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