Maybe my Catholic high school education was erroneous, but I was taught that we are to condemn the sin.
I think it is incomplete, and lacks complete confidence that we can take Jesus at His word, without trying to explain why we think it’s situational. I believe I can illustrate that the advice they have given you, though it echoes the predominant Catholic mentality, actually keeps us blinded to the real lesson Christ is offering.
That said, I don’t blame you or anybody else. You’re not judging any more than almost every other Christian I know of does.
However, I challenge myself, and anybody who want to go with me, to see how “radically” we can take Christ’s advice in general, and specifically not to judge.
First, let’s see what Jesus said about judging – when to do it, and under what circumstances…
Matt 7:
1 "Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
2 For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
37 "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
OK, I don’t see any qualifiers here. He doesn’t say, for example, “judging sins of others is proper and necessary, but judging them as evil people and saying they’re going to hell isn’t.”
That’s really just lip service for, “God, I know that you said not to judge, but I’ve always been taught that I should so I intend to keep doing it, and find a way that your Word doesn’t apply to me in my situation.”
I’m not blaming you at all. We are all victims of this, and it comes naturally as a part of the socialization process. Jesus doesn’t condemn us for it, He knows this is how we’re programmed by the world. He invites us into a world where there is no judgment; a world where there is no condemnation.
In this world, there must either be no sin, or we must not be able to detect it.
That’s because there is no sin unless there is a judgment. (I know this will raise flags, but I can explain context on request.) I can say to a brother, “I’m concerned/bothered/whatever by what you are doing. Can we talk about it?” But I cannot say, “what you’re doing is wrong, and I am here to explain why.” In the first case I’m providing my brother feedback that could help to save his life – mortal or eternal. In the second case I have judged him, and my whole approach to him makes him turn up his defenses so he can’t hear me."
Remember that the only role in society that judges us, that practically none of us have escaped, is the role of teacher. A teacher is thought of as a Good Thing because he can teach you new things. The problem is, the teacher also gets to give out grades, which go on the Permanent Record. So when we allow someone to teach us, we are opening ourselves up for them to judge us – and there are very few people we trust to judge us except for teachers and even then it’s because we can’t avoid it.
So back to the situation at hand. You can say, “Lord, I am concerned about these kids, that they are wasting their lives and risking catastrophic danger.” But you can’t say, “Lord, I am surrounded by sinners. Save me.” At this time I’ll call again upon the Word:
Luke 18:
9 He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.
10 “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity–greedy, dishonest, adulterous–or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
13 But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
14 I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
So is Jesus saying that it’s better to be a sinner than a person who does Good Things? Of course not. The way this strikes me is that Jesus is saying, “who are you to say that the other people’s sins are more serious than your own? No matter how many Good Works you do, if you continue to judge – which is opposed to love – you will never hear this lesson.”
One more scripture and then I need to take another break. I think this scripture helps to support what happened in the case of the publican and tax collector. I highlighted a few phrases I think are key:
1 Cor 13:
1 If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated,
5 it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
6 it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,** endures all things.**
I have to go but I’ll check back in a little while. In the meanwhile I ask you consider this: If we are to obey Christ, how radically can we do that, or are we limited by interpretations various humans have placed on us?
Alan
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