Judgementalism

Matthew 7:1-5

It's easy to think about being judgemental as someone else's problem (of course then, you run the danger of judging them for it!). But stop and think about it for a moment. Do you look at your coworkers with disdain for messing up a project? Do you think some of your supervisor's ideas are just ridiculous--if only they'd hired someone competent to do his/her job? Those questions get to the heart of at least one side of judgementalism in the workplace. It's easy to smirk at the inferiority of others. If only they'd come up to your level. That's passing judgement on them. There's at least three problems with that. First, it's unloving, and we're commanded to love others. Second, it may make you less likeable in the workplace. You might say, "they don't have to like me as long as they respect me." But that's not entirely true. Workplace relationships are one of the key parts of job satisfaction, and being friendly in the workplace can go a long way in helping you succeed.

But Jesus mentions a third reason when he warns against being judgmental. "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." To the degree that you look down at others' mistakes, you will be judged on your own mistakes. There's a couple of ways that happens. First, theologically, God judges us all. This is very similar to Jesus' teaching on forgiving others because you are forgiven, which I blogged about in terms of God's grace and the unmerciful servant. That's really the thing with the unmerciful servant, wasn't it? That he was judgmental toward a fellow servant when he'd been forgiven by the Master. Now for you. You've been forgiven a debt that you could never repay. How then can you judge someone else? It doesn't matter what context, whether a church or a business. We're called to accept people for who they are without judging them. That doesn't mean that you have to accept substandard work from others. But it does mean that you need to see them as worthy individuals just the way that they are.