People will say that
one of the main things they are looking for in a church, or in a group of Christians, is that they are not
judgmental. Occasionally, people will
say that they appreciate that our church is not judgmental. It's meant as a compliment, I know, but I'm a
little unsure how to respond to that.
Most people usually
mean that a person or group of people don't pass judgment upon others in the
sense of heaping condemnation upon them.
Fair enough. But it may mean, you
don't come down on sin (or a particular sin) so hard, or you're not negative
about anything.
But, can we ever
really be non-judgmental? Even the
statement, "you are too judgmental" or "you should be more
non-judgmental" is a judgment in itself.
The speaker is making the judgment that this other kind of judgment is
wrong. There's a disapproval of that
other kind of disapproval. "You
shouldn't be so negative" is a negative statement.
Should Christians
strive to be non-judgmental? Is this
something we really want in our churches?
Do we want to be at the place where we don't have values, or make
judgments as to what's right and what's wrong, what's true and what's a
lie?
Here's a key
passage, from Jesus' sermon on the mount:
"Judge not, that you be not judged.
For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the
measure you use it will be measured to you.
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not
notice the log that is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your
eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will
see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not
throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to
attack you." (Matthew 7:1-6)
What Jesus meant by
"judging not" has less to do with discernment and distinguishing
right and wrong, and more to do with hypocrisy and self-righteousness. He assumes we will know who the
"dogs" and "pigs" are (7:6). And elsewhere the Bible tells us to grow in
moral discernment: "But solid food
is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by
constant practice to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:14)
What Jesus is
speaking about is passing judgment by inflating the fault of
another while at the same time downsizing our own sin. In this way we fool ourselves into thinking
we have a clear and balanced perspective on another's problem, and yet be blind
to our own flaws, which are usually bigger than we think. There are many of us religious people who
would be happy to "help" you with your problems, while being blind to
the help we ourselves desperately need.
But this does not
call for non-judgment. It calls for a
healthy self-judgment in the light of truth.
And the gospel actually liberates us to be able to see the worst in
ourselves. We can face our problems with
realism because we are under a grace infinitely greater than our problems.
So, the condition of
being non-judgmental is not really a good goal.
We are a new creation and are called to leave certain thoughts and
behaviors behind. The Apostle Paul says,
"Put to death… put off…" certain attitudes and actions (Colossians
3:5-11, which is pretty negative), and then to "put on…" other
attitudes and actions (Colossians 3:12-17), which is the positive flip-side. We are certainly to make judgments, test our
motives, confess sin, repent, be accountable, be humble, and be vigilant.
But this is
primarily toward ourselves. The church
as a whole should be such an environment that allows all of us to share in this
mindset. Occasionally there are
situations where someone does need to be removed from fellowship (1 Corinthians
5, for example.) And if we have been sinned against we are to follow Jesus' plan for reconciliation (Matthew 18:15ff). But ongoing and
healthy judgment means that the church -- by regular application of the Word
and the ministry of the Holy Spirit -- sees truth ever more clearly, exposing
the lies we believe, walking in the light rather than darkness, and pursuing goodness rather
than evil.
The term
"non-judgmental" is really not very useful. It may lead to the conclusion that sin is no
big deal.
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