Arguably the best known Bible verse today is Matthew 7:1. Say it with me. "Judge not!" Because that is the theme of our culture ... at least toward people like Christians with biblical moral values.
Why do I put that caveat in there? Well, because, quite clearly, our current culture is steeped in judgmentalism. We are lapping it up and pouring it out liberally, even violently. We are absolutely sure that anyone who ever once said or did anything that we find offensive by today's standards should not only be judged; they should be canceled ("cancelled" if you're from the UK). Judge not? Oh, don't even bother. We're tearing down monuments, even to those who didn't offend. We're defunding all police because some police are corrupt. We are on an "offended" hair trigger and we will pull the trigger if anyone twitches. We are, currently, more of an "all-in" judgmental society right now than a "judge not" society.
That what makes it so ironic. Pulling out the "Judge not" verse to throw at Christians who are forced to draw biblical conclusions about "sin" and "morality" isn't very smart. Look at what it actually says.
"Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you." (Matt 7:1-2)Jesus didn't say "Judge not" in a vacuum. He explained it. If you judge, expect to be judged. If you judge, expect to be judged by your own standard. (So He follows this with a warning to check yourself first (Matt 7:3-5).)
What is the current standard by which our culture is judging? "I am offended, and you get no grace, no mercy, no chance to recover. There is no forgiveness possible. You offend -- ever -- and you get canceled, torn down, defunded, ruined. End of story." Won't that be a kick in the pants if they get judged by the same standard that they're using?
8 comments:
Good post. Your initial comment about independence got me thinking about how people see independence today.
I wonder, too. "Independence" means "not subject to control of others," so our society has ramped up that idea to mean "no control." (Actually, I think, very much like "don't judge me.") They've jettisoned controls from science (like killing babies in the womb or changing biology to mean "whatever I think I am") and morality and religion and truth. All of those controls are now "whatever I think they are." More concerning, "independence" means most literally "not dependent" and we finite humans have thrown out all dependence on the infinite as if that's a good thing. Oddly enough, throwing out all controls and all dependence puts us in a straight jacket when it comes to reality.
Bingo, that's where I went. It seems like the founders were looking for independence with responsibility, while our current society is heading toward independence without responsibility. It's certainly worth exploring.
When I look at how people online judge others, and think about Jesus words, I can only conclude that they think they’re exempt from Jesus’ standard.
" I can only conclude that they think they’re exempt from Jesus’ standard."
The sad thing is those Christians who appear to feel the same.
I honestly don’t care about non Christians who try to use Jesus words, selectively to enforce their preferences. I’m concerned about those who claim to be Christians who do the same.
And then to change what sin is in order to deny responsibility is needed. If I say my actions are cool, then I'm not abusing my independence. Now I can say I'm still a responsible person because those actions to which I'm inclined are no longer indications of an irresponsible character.
Exactly the way it works.
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