People, especially inside Christian circles always fling this term around, not always realizing that saying somebody is judgmental is actually pretty judgmental in itself. Go figure…
Being judgmental is also usually associated with being overly critical and negative about people’s conduct. By that definition my parents should be the most judgmental people I know because they were extremely critical of most things I did between the ages of 2 and 18. Haha, just joking mom and dad…
But I have been wondering why the term judgmental is only used when people voice their opinions about what they believe to be morally wrong? To make a moral judgment, one has to decide if a particular action or habitual conduct is good or bad. It doesn’t matter which you choose, you make a judgment either way. If I am in the habit of voicing my approval of behavioural conduct I deem morally good, am I not also being judgmental?
So for example, if I were to say homosexuality is morally wrong, I would be labeled as being judgmental pretty fast, especially by those who disagree with that point of view. Would the same happen if I instead said that heterosexuality is morally right? By saying one thing is right, you are also indirectly saying it’s opposite is wrong.
I often feel like in today’s overly politically correct inclined society, anybody with an opinion is an outcast. “You can have whatever you want, just don’t have an opinion about it.” This is especially true when faced with issues of a moral nature.
Maybe this is why the tree of knowledge includes both the knowledge of good and evil. Knowledge of good and knowledge of evil both root from the same tree of death. But why? Why is the knowledge of good and evil so destructive? Surely knowing what is good, so we can do it, and knowing what is evil, so we can avoid it, can not be all bad?
I think people are the problem, people are the reason things turn belly up when you introduce the knowledge of good and evil. We weren’t designed to function with it, and that is true just by looking at humanity. One person decides what he deems as good and what he deems as bad. The next person decides exactly the opposite, and bam, division, dislike, resentment, hate, war and ultimately death. Cain and Abel come to mind wouldn’t you agree?
Relating to people, and to God, through the judgmental behaviour patterns produced by the knowledge of good and evil leads to death in all forms. Stay away from religion, it has no life in it.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you!
Cornel
6 Responses to Being Judgmental
Leave a Reply
"Your life is transformed to the degree that your mind is renewed. Cornel's book goes a long way to removing the hindrances to that renewal."
-Curry R. Blake, John G. Lake Ministries
- Red Ships, Blue Ships and Worships… May 25, 2013
- Boxed In Worship May 22, 2013
- A New Journey April 27, 2013
- Military Industrial Church – By Clint Byars March 25, 2013
- Rediscovering “The Way” of Jesus – Steve Hackman March 22, 2013
- Does God Scourge Us? 7 Reasons to say “No!” June 17, 2013
- Hebrews 12:6 Does God Scourge His Kids? June 10, 2013
- Jesus Preached the Kingdom and the Law (Pt2) March 26, 2013
- Jesus Preached the Kingdom and the Law (Pt1) March 18, 2013
- Bono answers “Why Jesus?” June 18, 2013
- With A “Vision” The People Often Perish June 18, 2013
I think I see what you’re getting at in terms of relating to people but surely knowledge of good and evil is still a part of the new covenant? Paul the great grace teacher said in 1 Thessalonians 5 to “hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” It would be pretty difficult to do this if we couldn’t differentiate between the two.
Then there’s 1 Corinthians 5 where the instruction was only not to judge those outside the church. Paul warned the Corinthians not to even eat with immoral people. I must admit I find that one of the hardest passages to reconcile with the grace message, as I keep on asking myself where to draw the line.
I agree, knowledge in and of itself is not a bad thing, knowledge is very good thing actually. Hosea 4:6 states that people perish for lack of knowledge. So it is not knowledge that is corrupt, it is people who apply knowledge for selfish personal gain/reasons which makes for the corrupt part I think.
If we put on Christ and if the Holy Spirit only convicts us of our Righteousness in Christ, then we should reflect Christ in us. Instead of being judgemental, we should rather encourage one another of the fact that we are righteous in Christ.
But I wonder, would this work?
I am sure it would, but isnt how much you express Christ in that way related to how much your mind is renewed to Christ in you?
I did a word study on Genesis 2:9
For the word ‘evil’ I got the definition; evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity. I also found it to mean; bad, disagreeable, malignant.
The word knowledge means; knowledge, perception, skill, discernment, understanding, wisdom.
I believe what God was saying would be similar to Him saying, “if you eat that raw spoiled piece of meat, you will “KNOW” food poisoning or botulism.”
We see Pauls description of man’s dissension of the man who does not keep the knowledge of God in his mind. Romans 1.
When Adam & Eve disobeyed God’s command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the ‘knowledge’ of good and evil, they then understood and experienced evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity and physical death.
Colossians 1:21 says that our sin caused us to be alienated from God in our MIND, the place of ‘knowing’. When actually God did not leave us, we left Him. Adam and Eve displayed their sense of alienation when they hid from God.
Thanks John. I can agree and relate with that, but what about the good side of the tree? Did Adam and Eve only experience the evil side or did they also experience good and what did that look like?