Judge Not...

Recently I’ve seen the following picture pop up in a few places:

 Aside from the problematic nature of putting vulgar words into the mouth of Christ, this picture typifies one of the most common and least examined non-sequiters in our culture; the conflation of judging actions and judging people.  Today I’d like to examine that piece of modern wisdom.

People are Not Verbs:

Let’s take the example of an alcoholic… Ted.  After years of trying to change his ways, Ted becomes convinced that drunkenness is something he’ll never overcome.  Then he takes it a step further and decides that drunkenness is a part of who he is.  He’s a drunk – why fight it?

At this point he’s crossed an important threshold.  From now on Ted is just not a man who drinks – Ted defines himself by the act of drinking.  So forming a moral judgment on the action of getting copiously drunk is now indistinguishable (in his mind) from a judgment on himself as a person.  Warning Ted about the dangers of alcoholism will earn the retort, “Who are you to judge me!”

The thing is, no rational person thinks this way.  We recognize that “persons” and “actions” are two entirely different categories and judging one is different from judging the other.  Even when Ted has drunk himself into the lowest depths of human depravity, we still recognize a distinction between Ted and his addiction. 

This distinction between human person and human action is critical for behaving humanely toward one another.  If you found Ted wallowing in the gutter, you might experience something known as pity.  But if Ted really was defined by his alcohol addiction, your pity would be irrational.  Instead of thinking “that poor man”, you could only think, “There’s Ted being who he is.” 

Conflating persons with actions leads us to dehumanizing people.  It treats people like creatures of instinct and habit – like animals.

The Hypocrisy of it All:

There’s also the matter of applying the “don’t judge” standard consistently.  Let’s presume that judging the morality of actions is wrong.  That would mean it is also wrong to condemn the action of… condemning actions.  Ironically, the offended party is employing the same rational moral judgment they are pretending to condemn.

Of course, that was never the issue to begin with.  We all recognize bad behaviors when we see them – be it poor driving, rudeness, child abuse, theft, or violence.  Learning to distinguish between right and wrong is necessary for joining society.  There is, however, one group of people that don’t make moral judgments on actions … we call them sociopaths. 

We only assume the “Who are you to judge me!” attitude when we’re trying to hide something.  That, I think is the most annoying part.  This attitude assumes the part of both the victim and the accuser. It climbs onto the moral high-horse while condemning high-horses.  It tries to apply a Christian-sounding principle to a very unchristian notion of moral apathy.  And in the end, what it actually means is, “Shut up.”

What it Means to Not Judge:

So what does it mean when Christ said, “Judge not lest ye be judged”?

He wasn’t telling us to shut down our ability to discern right from wrong.  He wasn’t telling us to keep our ethical judgments to ourselves.  Rather, Jesus said we’re not to stand as judge over the state of a person’s soul.  Doing so requires knowing the innermost secrets of a person’s heart, which is knowledge available to God alone. 

This is why Saint Paul says,

“Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in the darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.  Then every man will receive his commendation from God.” – 1 Corinthians 4:5   

 Let’s put it in practical terms:  We are permitted to say, “He does evil things.”  We are not permitted to say, “He is evil.”

So what did Jesus do?

Let’s turn our attention back to that image.  The author portrays a Jesus who conflates persons with actions.  This begs the question of what Jesus would actually do.

In the eighth chapter of John’s Gospel, a woman is brought to Jesus who was caught in adultery.  We all know how the story goes:  The Pharisees ask Jesus was to do – kill or spare the woman?  Jesus replies that the man without sin should throw the first stone.  The crowd withdraws, leaving Jesus alone with the woman.  He says to her:

“Neither do I condemn you.  Go, and from now on sin no more.” - John 8:11

Unlike the Jesus in the popular image, the real Jesus never forgets the distinction between persons and actions.  How could He?  The very act of forgiveness draws a distinction between a despicable action and a lovable person.  Mercy is meaningless unless some offence was committed and graciously excused.  The real Jesus couples mercy with the call to conversion. 

The purpose of the cross was to show us the horribleness of sin and the depth of God’s loves for us.  It’s impossible to understand one without facing the other.  Removing the reality of sin and the necessity of conversion from the Gospel does not create a more tolerant form of Christianity – it makes Christianity pointless.