An Impasse of Judgement

I feel as though I may have written on this topic before but for some reason it has come up again in my thinking and I felt like sharing some thoughts here. As the title suggests, this post has to do with judgement. Specifically our cultural use of the phrase “don’t judge me.”

I use the word “impasse” in the title for two reasons: 1) I think it’s a really cool word & 2) because I think it properly describes the deadlock that we, as a culture, are experiencing in the area of critical judgement.

Most people who do not conform to the secular ideal of moral relativism will at one point or another be deemed “judgemental.” Passing judgement (as defined by secular relativism) is becoming increasingly taboo. However, what is completely missed by most people is that it is impossible not to pass judgement.

Judgement is inevitable.

If you go out to dinner and you think the chef whipped up killer plate of pasta you’re being judgemental. If you turn on the T.V. and a commercial for the Apple Watch shows up you will inevitably make a judgement (either positively or negatively) about Apple’s newest product. Passing judgement is part and parcel of what it means to be human. Humans are made in God’s image and God is constantly evaluating His creation. “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31)

Jesus’ admonishments over passing judgement are entirely misconstrued by the secular relativist. When Jesus tells his audience “judge not lest you be judged,” he is talking about the quality of one’s judgement, not whether one is passing judgement. You can’t not pass judgement. This means that being aware of how you are passing judgement becomes all the more important.

Food for thought.

Michae