Stop Judging? Don't walk down Stupid street. Failure to judge situations is a denial of wisdom. Strengthen you Judgment
Somehow "we" judged him as the enemy. But no discernment was applied.
Judgment and Discernment – same, similar or what? The Crimes of Judgment and Stereotyping. Why is discernment different?
For a “good” Christian this is easy, judgment bad and discernment good. I am afraid though that they really mostly do one and label it the other so they are dogmatically correct. Judging others is a very important tool for modern survival. Discerning another’s intention and character are very important also.
I judge people, I label them and I categorize them. I pay close attention to speech and behavior mannerism to tell me so very much about a person. I once worked with a guy we called Cowboy. He was a good partner in a rather tough town on the US Mexican border called San Ysidro. I believe at the time they were numbering 1 gunshot related death a day. He did not have an inch of Texan in him, maybe one time he rode a horse, his slang accent was Hollywood found and his clothes were from JC Penny. He did carry a Colt revolver and wore a silly ten gallon Stetson. We became vast friends when I quickly judged him a ratpacker, wannabe, dime store cowboy, not authentic. But there was something endearing and disarming about his masquerade. And he never acted like a truck driver.
It is wise to not judge a book by it's cover. But a wise shopper judges it somehow.
The really cool part about Cowboy was that he was an attitude magnet. He brought out a reaction just by being Cowboy, folks were off their guard. So now we could read a stride, clothing, language, body language and accents and emphasis and eye contact and calluses on hands or the absence thereof, by a ring on a finger, by sweat, by tremors and by tells we could- judge jury and convict- or acquit a man in seconds using our judgment. By their reaction to Cowboy we could sniff out slang, bias, threat level, sophistication, level of confidence. In fact we could discern more than we needed.
So here is my deal on judgment. Use it or lose it. Nowhere in any spiritual text does it prohibit a person from applying their common sense and judgment to make life better. Discernment is just a way of saying good judgment. For dramatic effect: Let us take the bible thumper who tells the judge or jury commissioner that they cannot sit in judgment of another. That is wacko! And double wacko and in fact that person should be excluded, because they are unstable and whacko. Do you think that whacko leaves the court and does not judge the distance off a curb in order not to fall. Do you think he judges distances that a person will walk and their ability to get across a cross walk before he arrives – ooops he just judged somebody. When giving his customer a 30 day bill to pay, clearly he judges credit worthiness. But yet he uses judgment as an excuse from civic duty and judges society not worthy of his input.
I judged the 7 rattlers on this fellow and discerned that I should stay 8 feet back.
If you cannot judge someone, come over to my house with your wallet.
My older children as they immersed in and then emerged out of very good universities all condemned me for judging on stereotypes. That is until they got spanked by ignoring them a few times. They get it now. Judge people, judge people and judge people. And remember you ain’t no stinking Judge. Share only as required. Change your mind, keep it open. Look for friends and treat folks with love. But please honey, don’t walk up to a man with an open knife who has crazy eyes and is grunting as he breathes, with your bulging purse. Judge the man first.
The judgment, that Buddhists, Great Spirit Walkers, Christians and nontheists cannot abide by is one that changes your inside feeling about love and acceptance into contempt and condemning another to hell. It is not our place and it is frivolous to suggest it. Weird Black Witches do, some Paganists do, but not a rule or But lovers of others are not allowed to. See how cool it is, Judgment like Wisdom are not Gods. But they are neato. Use them. But for us Love is the first and last commandment.
Today on our drive for me to Preach my wife said something most outstanding. She was talking about a co-worker having to deal with a horrible deceitful mean man. I had to stop her for clarification. My wife said she felt horrible for the horrible man. She explained: “why should I feel horrible for a good man that has some problems? He is a good man already! But can you imagine how horrible it would be to be a horrible person?”. I got her point.
Discernment is taking judgment up one level and deciding to act in love regardless of our judgment.
A blessing to all who can read this, and a prayer to all who cannot.
