I was recently referred to as the “church lady” & I instantly thought of the SNL spoof w Dana Carey & became suddenly nauseous. If there’s anyone that i hope i’m NOT it is that caraciture – ouch! Yet i think we christians deservedly get this rap, sometimes. You see judging is almost like breathing for us – we judge everything: coffee, carpet, phones, friends, generations, time usage, refrigerators, cars, behaviors, gov’ts, leaders, worship, pets, clothes, . . . . . we have preferences, we make choices, we evaluate, we make determinations, etc. Some judgments are immaterial – the decaf i’m presently drinking is room temperature & i’d like it lots better if it were warm. Some judgments are violent & destructive to not only others, but to ourselves – especially in relation to people.
Here’s something interesting to consider – we like to use the phrase Jesus speaks of about: the measure we sow is the measure that we’ll reap. However, most of the time this verse is in relation to judging – it we judge alot, we’ll be judged alot. If we judge a little, we’ll be judged a little. If we don’t like to be judged, maybe the simple answer is that we should stop being judgmental – Matt 7:1-2.
i used to be a pretty harsh person. then i had an honest look at my own humanity – it was a sobering sight & has subsequently caused me to be far less critical & judgmental. don’t be the SNL church lady
