AUTHOR: Robin Dugall DATE: 7:36:00 AM ----- BODY:

I think the title of my blog today says it all...judgmentalism has always been alive and well but there seems to be a growing presence of this insidious infection among those who profess Jesus as Lord. Many of you know that I do life within the sphere of a major Christian University...fact is, I teach three classes to students who are refreshingly blunt and transparent in how they view the world and the "Church" in their midst. Without an exception, students are speaking, writing, sharing, and lamenting on the atmosphere of judgmentalism that has permeated the DNA of their community. Living honestly and openly in the context of love and mercy is not the experience of the majority...most confess that they have personally experienced the cold fingers of judgment from people that they felt they could trust because they share a common life foundation in Jesus. Judgmentalism is one of the most deadly of cancers within the community of Jesus...discerning we are called to be...loving and accepting in the context of discernment and in the security of relationship is what Jesus modeled for us in lifestyle and action. Condemnation, rejection, legalism running rampant at the expense of community and God's desire for transformation is what many of us are actually living. A dear friend of mine who died several years ago often commented on the fact that we are all great theoretical theologians - we all have our minds in the same place - it is just our operational theology is screwed up. Our praxis is killing us and our ability to demonstrate the love of Jesus to world that so desperately needs to know in the fabric of their being that "love wins" (to quote Rabbi Bell). No one has the right to pick up the reins of God in judgment. Remember, those who were called by God to speak words of justice in the scriptures had to match the severity of their message with their lifestyles. I have always believed that if you or me want to jump on a "prophetic" bandwagon where we act as God's spokesperson for calling people to change then we better be willing to have our lives match up with our words in an uncompromising manner. The only way we are going to be allowed to be in any way and form to righteously "call other people out" for their behavior is if our lives are lived with such intense purity and austereness that the people we call out would not doubt that we had a shred of self-interest attached to our words. Try this exercise...look through the prophetic literature in the bible...you won't see people coming back at the prophets and saying, "who do you think you are?". People knew that these men were living out the message that God had given them...there wasn't even a small slice of self-righteousness or arrogance about them. The prophets incarnated their message. Put it this way, do you want to act as a prophet of justice in your sphere of influence? Then you better live the type of life that backs up your words. In addition, you better be reminding people of the love and acceptance of God for those who turn back to Him. To do anything less is to fall prey to the insidious infection of judgmentalism. To put it one more way..."everybody wants to live a life without judgmentalism but nobody wants to stop judging". It's time to pick up on a new lifestyle...it's time to stop the spread of infection within the Body...it's time to stop judgmentalism.

-------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: wellis68 COMMENT-DATE:2:30 PM COMMENT-BODY:Thanks so much Robin, you tell it so well. My question is anyone able to say they live with "such intense purity and austereness that the people we call out would not doubt that we had a shred of self-interest attached to our words?" -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: H. West COMMENT-DATE:3:03 PM COMMENT-BODY:I heard a quote once, probably from Rob Bell that says, "The things we judge in others are the things we fear the most to see in ourselves." I've also been reading through B Manning's Raggamuffin Gospel lately and just this morning i was reading the passage about what it means to be poor in spirit. He writes, "Her spiritual poverty enables her to enter the world of the other even when she cannot identify with that world: i.e., the drug culture, the gay wold. The poor in spirit are the most nonjudgemental of peoples; they get along well with sinners." Maybe the key to being less judgemental is not being better people but rather realizing we are not. Great thoughts, Robin. -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:1:09 PM COMMENT-BODY:Robin,
this is Kat Brandt here. I was talking to my little sister yesterday about being judgmental. She said that I was, and I began my refutal, my justification. Because I have a tendency to be judgmental towards my family, but not towards friends, I would not consider myself judgmental. This is a strange phenomenon, one that I cannot fully understand and am really trying to work through.
I know that if I attack the problem directly, try not to be judgmental, that I will most likely be defeated. But if I press into God, more and more of my ill tendencies will peel away, and that which has permeated my own spiritual DNA will eventually fade.
Thanks for your insight. I need a good challenge every so often.
*love and joy*
~Catherine Brandt
www.suchthoughts.blogdrive.com --------