Are You Capable to Judge?

Who is strong enough to actually be a judge in today’s world?  We all judge every single day, whether we intentionally do it or not.  Let’s look at this from a pragmatic point of view.

Is there such a thing as good and evil?  If one were to say yes, of course.  Then we must follow up with the question – What constitutes goodness and what constitutes evil?  An individual will give a subjective response to this question, but then again who’s to say that a person standing next to them or a person down the street would have a very different response to this same question.  Then we must ask, in the circumstance that their responses are different, who is correct when they both face the same moral situation.

Example: if a person hits another person across the face, is it right or wrong?  Frank might say that it is right based on the words that the person had said prior to being slapped.  Jack might say it is never right to hit another person and therefore the person doing the hitting should receive a just consequence.  Two opinions on the same situation, both somewhat justified in their perspective.  Who’s the better judge?  In answering this question, you are also putting forth your opinion in one direction over the other, so what makes you correct over others reading this that would put forth the opposing opinion?

Judging is not simple by any means, and to be honest we are not equipped mentally or spiritually to take on that role in even the most basic situations.  In life there are extremely difficult situations that we are facing daily that require us to make a judgement on right/wrong or good/evil.  Abortion, rape, gun control, drugs, pornography, racism, parenting, work, school, church, discipline, finances, and so on and so on. 

We make decisions based on an evaluation of the outcome and how it impacts us and those around us at any given moment.  Once the decision has been made, we move on and take on the next decision.  We use our views on good/evil, right and wrong to make these decisions; but who established within our own moral compass the definitions of these perspectives.  What is the moral foundation for our determinism, and does it ever change?

Have you ever made a determination if something is good or evil only to come back at a later time with a change of heart or a different opinion on the matter?  Have you ever been wrong in determining that something is evil when in reality it may have been circumstantial and actually had a longer good or positive result?  We are all quick to judge others based on our moral compass without fully understanding the details of a situation or action.  Yet, we are so unbelievably limited in our ability to fully perceive the completeness of any situation from a macro point of view.  We use the knowledge and experiences of our own life to judge others against those experiences and knowledge basis.  Do we truly have such a high opinion of ourselves and our wisdom to think that we have the right to actually judge another for any of their actions?

Come on seriously.  You believe you can judge others, and that you have that right to do so?  Fine, judge me in the comments section below.

Based on your knowledge, wisdom and experiences with me in this life answer the following:

1.      Am I ever wrong about my views on society?

2.      Do I work hard for the money I make?

3.      If I told you I have a gun, am I right in that decision?

4.      If I discipline my children, am I a child abuser?

5.      If I lose my temper, is that verbal abuse?

6.      If I stole something as a young man, am I a criminal, and should I be sentenced?

7.      Am I wrong to drink a beer when I watch football on Saturdays?

8.      Should I be punished for not spending more time with my family and working long hours?

9.      If I lie about a specific action or topic, and mislead you, am I still a friend?

10.   I love helping out at church, but it means I’m not with my wife in the pews, is this wrong?

How did I do in your eyes?  This is a very simple, non-offensive list to most, but represents the fact that we all would look at this list of 10 things, and I assure you, none of us would have the exact same response to the entire list.  Each of us are unique in our thought process and determination on what constitutes right and wrong. Therefore, I posit that you and I are not qualified to judge others in anything, if we cannot agree on the simple things. 

We were not designed to judge each other.  In our humanity, we cannot see the exponential scale of every decision made by others, and therefore we are incapable of determining right from wrong.  We have a single point of reference though, and that is Jesus Christ.  For He alone, according to the scriptures, lived a perfect, sin-free life and now sits at the right hand of the Father.  He alone has given all that our iniquities can be erased and forgiven.  It is this grace, this love from Him that we hold as truth and authentic righteousness, and any judgement or opinion outside of this is flawed from it’s base.  Because we are not perfect and sinless, we have not ability to judge others for their imperfectness and sins.  So let God be God, and learn to love others simply because they are imperfect just like you.