Judgmental. Perhaps the most commonly-wielded accusation
against evangelical Americans. And I think it’s an apt descriptor. We ARE
judgmental. It causes enormous problems not just for our public image but also
for our relationships with each other. That’s why I’ve done everything in my
power for the last 4 years to break off the judgmental tendencies which have
damaged and destroyed several of my close relationships over the years. I’ve
searched high and low for the secret to an attitude of acceptance (btw- the
secret is receiving acceptance from God to a greater extent and from others to
a lesser extent). I’ve found acceptance is a better foundation for relationship
and gets me in much less trouble. But I keep running up against things I have a
hard time accepting. So I’m left asking… is tolerance all it’s cracked up to
be?
Jesus was intolerant. In fact, it was his intolerance that
got him killed. In John 7, he says to a couple of his brothers, “The world
cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.”
What!? I thought Jesus was supposed to be a “friend of
sinners”. Now I imagine him in a big church preaching hellfire against gays and
democrats. But when I look at his life, I don’t SEE the kind of standard
moralizing I see in our churches today. He has a few sharp words for the
man-on-the-street: “You’re only following me because I fed you bread.” Or…
“stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” But there’s also, “Woman,
has no one condemned you? Then neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”
Stories of Jesus with prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners…. Seems he’s in
the business of offering life to the traditionally-rejected. In fact if Jesus
came back today, I kinda think he might go drinking with his buddies at gay
bars. I’m just saying….!
So where is the brunt of his judgment against the world felt?
In the institution! It’s no coincidence that after his comment to his brothers
in John 7, he goes to a Jewish Feast and says, “Has not Moses given you the
law. Yet not one of you keeps the law.” Whoa! Imagine how it would feel if someone
walked into your Christmas Eve service and said, “Not one of you understands
the birth of Jesus. You are all hypocrites!” But this is where the judgment of
Jesus is felt most strongly: in our religious and cultural establishments.
I don’t think evangelicals should stop judging. I just think
we ought to redirect our focus. It’s easy for us to judge gay couples, moms who
choose abortion, welfare dependants, and criminals. The behavior is apparent.
But when it comes to greed we say, “money is a private matter.” We become quite
docile and accepting when we see racism or sexism in the church. Justice for
illegal immigrants? Well that’s too hot to touch isn’t it? And we would never
judge the consolidation of power because we reward personal ambition in our
culture.
It’s Jesus who sharply tells the crowds, “Stop judging by
mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” In other words, it’s time to
judge like Jesus. It’s time to start judging the heart and avoid the judgments
that justify us: “Well I’m not perfect, but at least I’m not like THOSE
people!” I want to look close to home before I shotgun my judgment against
other groups. And when I criticize I want it to be against hypocrisy in my
family, the Church.
If I must be hated, I really hope to be hated by other
Christians.
No comments :
Post a Comment