Judgement Free Zone

Micah 2:12-3:4

In this installment, Dr. J. Vernon McGee at TTB.org talks about the drunk driver who killed his mother and tries to get a handle on the issue of judgement.

Judgement is a huge issue as we think about behavior and character.  At Planet Fitness, or anywhere else, there is actually no judgement free zone, regardless of capitalization or grammar.  So we have an unreachable goal; a recipe for dissatisfaction.

Depending on the meaning, we have to judge, don't we?  In order to think, we have to evaluate.  But here we go again in English with words that have different shades of meaning and aren't clones of one another but words that did have different meanings in a time when people used definitions rather than synonyms to gain further understanding.

We know there is something wrong with judging, but what is it?

Judgement
Judging
Evaluation
Thinking
Critiquing

I suppose it all comes down to intention, and do we understand our own intentions?  Can we judge ourselves enough to make good choices or are we reacting rather than choosing to act or not? 


(Today, according to Google, the PF website uses the phrase Judgement Free Zone with all capital letters- in majuscule, as I would think it would be in English, therefore denoting the presence of proper nouns; more readily evident of ownership in that language, unlike in German where every noun is just as special as every other one.)

Mr. McGee speaks with passion today.  Of course he does.  But he doesn't speak about his own mother's death with more passion than most other subjects that he covers.  Could it be that the death of his mother isn't quite as important as scripture, or knowledge, or truth itself or the sum total of one man's lifework?  One could call him a Mensch.  He's showing judgement; an ability to see beyond oneself before making the decision of how to feel, what to do and what to think and what to say.  I'm wondering why I don't show much judgement before speaking.  It's as if when I see the truth I just need to say it.

Hmmm.  The only one who's always there when I see the truth is me, so I guess I know instinctively that I'm the one that needs to hear it, because apparently that's who I'm talking to most of the times that I speak.  But that's not how I operate.  I see it, and I say it.  "Watch out, there's a car coming" might be a necessary comment to someone sometime, but it's not like anybody else knows what I'm talking about if they don't have any context, or ears to hear or time to listen or know the language I'm using.

Listening to Mr. McGee expound and postulate once again, I am very grateful for his work that covers every chapter of the Bible.  But now I am also interested in reading or listening to his work that might have been collated by subject rather than as part of a chapter commentary.  For instance, where could I find a collection of all his comments on "government today" that are more timely now than when he said them?


We hate the good and love the evil, because we're comparing others' works to our own!  How can we be objective when we're so filled with covetousness and envy?  Keeping up with the Joneses is a national pastime.  Since the Bushes have had two presidents, now the Clintons want the same distinction.  This isn't a problem of each of us in our hearts, but a systematic celebrated societal problem.  There are economies and industries built upon this premise:

If you've got it, I want it.

Everybody wants everything, except what they've got.  I don't think it matters much if we have another Bush or Clinton in The White House, but I am surprised that the nation is caught up in the middle of their family squabble.  One has CNN on their side and one has Fox.  Can nobody see that there are more than two choices?  Who says America doesn't have dynasties?
 
Greed, envy, striving, trying: that part of the problem has been evident to me.  It's not like the people in power are any worse than the people who don't have power.  Everybody wants something.  But now, after listening to J. Vernon, I get to add the further frustrating concept of self-pity to the mix.  This is why the proverbial judge, a little tipsy the night before the trial, can't objectively judge the drunk driver in court the next day.  She knows that she drinks and so she sees herself in the remorseful criminal's eyes.  We need to judge only when we're judges, but even then it seems impossible to separate the personal from the mix.

I love the idea that liberals are kind against criminals because they know deep down that we're all the same and that they've done reprehensible things themselves.  I've always known there was something wrong with liberal wishiwashiness and this has helped me peg it.  There's nothing wrong with universal brotherhood and there's nothing wrong with mercy.  But only someone better than somebody else can offer grace, and it's that sanctimonious position of helping the poor, the down-trodden and the outcast that is just a front for pride. 

I love the idea that conservatives are harsh on criminals because they know deep down inside that we're all the same and that we're all deserving of punishment.  They know they can't fix the world, but they can apply judgement and justice where they find it.  They just want to do their part, right?  Wrong.  I've always known there was something wrong with this way of thinking but now I know what it is.  Justice is great.  But only God can be just and only God can be truly gracious.






We're not God and we're judging anyway.  There's the problem.

We're called to be just but not judging, and we're called to show grace and mercy.  This is not something that can be accomplished by being liberal and this is not something that can be accomplished by being conservative.  In fact, it's revolutionary and that's why they killed Him.

How can the victim judge the crime?  How can anyone judge anybody when we all know we've done the same thing?  God is a better judge, and we'll tear each other to bits in comparisons and false pride bolstered by power and righteousness even if it's cloaked in legal righteousness.  One can eat the poor or feed the poor, but if you don't see that we're all poor, you're wrong.  It doesn't matter which side of the horse we fall off of while we reach for that golden ring. 

Christians know that they have been given a free pass, and they know that they should forgive others if they want to be forgiven.  we say it all the time.

When do we do it?