I trust you were blessed by the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!
I have some further thoughts on the subject of being judgmental. Prior to Christmas I was blogging on the topic of critical judgments. If we are to deal with this problem biblically, we must address the heart. We must get to the root of critical judgments.
You must realize that the main root of these judgments is the sin of pride. Pride tells you that you are better than others. Pride tells you that your behavior is better, that you would never (of course) stoop to doing or saying some of these things you observe in others.
Pride says, “If you want to be good you must be like me, think like me, act like me because I am the model. If you do not think I am the model, I will tear you down; I will cause others to think poorly of you by gossip and slander.”
Pride can also reveal itself in the inclination to believe that “I alone understand the truth about things.” I think that my beliefs, convictions, theology, and doctrines are true, and I look down on anyone who disagrees with me (Gal. 5:26). Many legalistic thinkers fit in this category.
The prideful person may also be very self-righteous. They are never wrong, and even if by some miracle you are able to prove they are wrong they are still right. Admission of being wrong just does not seem to be a part of them. They argue and dig in and rant and rave to prove their point.
Pride leads to the sin of selfishness. It is all about me, all the time and in every way.
Another issue that is related is fear of man (insecurity). They believe, “I must be well thought of!” “I must be the one looked up to.” “I am smarter than you are.”
A person who is not secure in their identity in Christ, or who has lived a life of man pleasing can be critical. The thinking is that the best defense is a good offensive position. This leads them to be attacking in their judgments because they want to get the jump on you.
Jealousy can be another fruit or result. A jealous person will be very critical of others because they do not want others to be seen in a better light then they are. If you recall the story of Joseph and his brothers in Gen 37 they were all insanely jealous of Joseph. They hated him because his father loved him more and treated him differently, and because Joseph had dreams in which he was lord over them. Their pride and jealousy overcame them and they threw him into a pit and left for dead but then as a second thought, they sold him as a slave. The sons of Jacob were jealous and it drove the m to hate their brother.
Did you ever stop and think about self-pity being an aspect of uncharitable judgments and pride? This might sting a little but consider this: a person who struggles with self-pity is thinking in their heart that they should not be treated this way, or this bad thing should not have happened to them. They do not stop to think that by saying that, they are elevating themselves over others. What they are truly saying is that they are too good or important to be in this mess, it should be you because you are only you and not as good as them. Think about that next time you are tempted to be self-pitying…
The next time I will continue with the ugly face of uncharitable judgments, and how to resolve this problem biblically.