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Why Jesus told us not to judge


markdohle

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Why Jesus told us not to judge

When talking to people who do share deeply I am beginning to understand why Jesus told us not to judge.  While behaviors can be harmful to others it is easy to understand why they are done even if the morality behind them is still wrong if their history is understood.  We can judge actions and at times the need to deal with people who commit them.  That is a form of judgment.  Which is necessary, yet to judge the worth of another human being, or to give up on them is not something we are called to do as Christians.  That is what mercy is.  Mercy is mercy because it is not deserved, but a gift of grace.  The more we understand, the deeper we see, the easier it is to show mercy, even if something needs to be done to protect others.  

The seeking after revenge is not good for the one who desires it, yet it is a lesson that has not been learned by us as a species.  We see the fruit of hatred of any kind and its effect on our world, yet we ignore the wisdom of our religious traditions that show us a way out.  I am no further along; over and over again I am brought to the humiliation of seeing that below my so called Christian exterior there is a person who could easily slip into a warlike position.  I am glad that I have this struggle, for if it repressed it, it could one day come forth like a raging volcano.   Self knowledge is important, the more we see ourselves, the less we need to judge others, at least as far as their worth is concerned.--Br.MD

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I agree completely.  I've known Christians who like to play what I consider to be semantic games by saying they don't judge others but rather are being "discerning" of their behaviors and motives (as if one can easily decipher such things anyway).  We are all guilty of rashly judging others and it's such a natural, easy trap to become mired in.  I struggle with it often and when I am aware of doing it I am repentant but by then often enough, the harm has already been done.  I've found that it can be a particularly troubling issue here at UM.  Every so often I have the need to go back and apologize to those I feel I've been nasty to who, in retrospect, did not at all deserve such treatment.  Sometimes showing humility and asking forgiveness is all a person can do.

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aka CAT

Posted (edited)

:-? 'and then' nasty?  I've only known you to be sweet.

Mark,

I thought I saw another comment here earlier.  It prompted me to compose a response:

Life is as complicated as are the dynamics of human interactions.  

What is sometimes lacking is receptivity to the Holy Spirit, 

which is why Jesus sometimes dusted off his sandals and kept walking.  

Nevertheless, Christ patiently awaits our readiness to turn to Him for, 

therein the healing of His compassion, is hope for all of us.

 

It is the storminess of people's relationships that resist Christ's message

along with His messengers.  They know not how bitterness about life's

challenges precludes them the fruits of the Word.  I know, because we

each have our own crosses to carry.  And, yet, since one's lightening

another's burden often mysteriously eases his own, I like the following:

 

serveimage?url=http%3A%2F%2Ft0.gstatic.c

 

Peace, 'bro.'

Edited by aka CAT
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I have found that we.judge people on what we perceive,  I think personally that we don't know what people are thinking when they acted like they did. That enforces (for me) the fact that we should not judge for we do not.know their internal conflict / process. We only see their actions 

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On 9/27/2016 at 4:54 PM, and then said:

I agree completely.  I've known Christians who like to play what I consider to be semantic games by saying they don't judge others but rather are being "discerning" of their behaviors and motives (as if one can easily decipher such things anyway).  We are all guilty of rashly judging others and it's such a natural, easy trap to become mired in.  I struggle with it often and when I am aware of doing it I am repentant but by then often enough, the harm has already been done.  I've found that it can be a particularly troubling issue here at UM.  Every so often I have the need to go back and apologize to those I feel I've been nasty to who, in retrospect, did not at all deserve such treatment.  Sometimes showing humility and asking forgiveness is all a person can do.

I agree, all we can do is seek to make amends.  As we grow in self knowledge, we see that we do it on very deep levels, beyond our control.  Then all we can do is to learn from that and have compassion for ourselves and others.  Good comment thank you my friend.

 

Peace
mark

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On 9/27/2016 at 4:55 PM, aka CAT said:

:-? 'and then' nasty?  I've only known you to be sweet.

Mark,

I thought I saw another comment here earlier.  It prompted me to compose a response:

Life is as complicated as are the dynamics of human interactions.  

What is sometimes lacking is receptivity to the Holy Spirit, 

which is why Jesus sometimes dusted off his sandals and kept walking.  

Nevertheless, Christ patiently awaits our readiness to turn to Him for, 

therein the healing of His compassion, is hope for all of us.

 

It is the storminess of people's relationships that resist Christ's message

along with His messengers.  They know not how bitterness about life's

challenges precludes them the fruits of the Word.  I know, because we

each have our own crosses to carry.  And, yet, since one's lightening

another's burden often mysteriously eases his own, I like the following:

 

serveimage?url=http%3A%2F%2Ft0.gstatic.c

 

Peace, 'bro.'

Thank you my friend, very wise.

Peace

Mark

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On 9/28/2016 at 0:52 PM, Debstermania said:

I have found that we.judge people on what we perceive,  I think personally that we don't know what people are thinking when they acted like they did. That enforces (for me) the fact that we should not judge for we do not.know their internal conflict / process. We only see their actions 

Yes, actions have to be dealt with, the interior of life of others is a mystery, as well as our own inner world.

 

peace
mark

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