Judge Not, Lest Thee Be Judged

I was thinking about Jesus' statement, "Judge Not, Lest Thee Be Judged" the other day when I was sitting in a gathering at Summit Church in Orlando.

It's rather difficult, honestly, writing a blog like this to avoid criticism of other people. I mean, as much as I try to make a humble narration of the things I see around me, I've probably resorted to finger pointing at least as often as true objective commentary. That said, I hope that anyone who reads this blog (especially those with contrary opinions) understands that some of my very best friends are democrats, republicans, socialists, and of course libertarians (I even know a few closet fascists, but I won't call them out here). I love each of them very much and I think that each of us are trying to accomplish the same things with our political agendas. None of us are more or less compassionate toward the poor, the rich, or the middle class- we merely have different ideas about what's the most effective way to meet the needs of the most people.

What's frustrating is that any one of these ideologies could probably work. Socialism has worked in some places just as well as the free market. And dictatorships have flourished just as democracies have. But we rarely acknowledge this. We're each so sure that we have the right answers, we resorts to casting judgment on each other about whether we truly support the needs of the poor or the lives of unborn children or marriage or whatever issue we're most passionate about.

And this is when Jesus' words about judging can become most helpful.

We judge when we assume that Republicans who are trying to protect the rights of businesses are evil because they don't seem to be fighting for the "little guy." We judge when we assert that they don't care about women because they want them to go through with pregnancies. We put the "evil" brand on Democrats who are trying to fight for the rights of homosexuals because they don't seem to respect heterosexual marriage. We shut down their ideas because their sense of social justice involves (in our minds) "punishing" those who are successful at creating wealth. People assume that Libertarians are crazy potheads because we want to legalize marijuana even though most of us think it would actually SAVE lives and lead to less violence.

I know I need to be more humble when I blog. I need to be careful to remember that my friends on the other side of the political isle are usually after the same thing as me. They want to everyone to have the best possible life. I can't be so quick to blow them off- even if I disagree with their methods.

So hold me to that.

I'll do the same for you.