INTRO

Introductions:
My Name is Matthew, and I am a soldier. I have an interesting view that I share from time to time with the folks I encounter as I walk the road. Some of those people have encouraged me to seek out ways to help others or simply share my views or ideas with more people. I will blog on many subjects, from things that piss me off on a daily basis to more important issues such as dealing with chronic depression and the struggles that ensue as a result. I will be taking bits and pieces from emails and rants that I have verbalized as well, so if you see something we have talked about please, smile and nod...Thanks for reading.

Friday, February 7, 2014

JUDGEMENT

               I have an issue with people judging. I love my family and I care for them and their opinions. I respect everyone, regardless of where they come from, whatever race, creed, color or religion. I respect someone until they give me reason not to. I do my best not to judge anyone. I am not perfect and there are times when my culture or past has created a schema that I put people into and I do my best to ignore those precepts and ideas and treat each encounter with a person as a blank slate. I screw up sometimes and allow grudges and the past to get in the way though. I’m not perfect and I’m not claiming to be.

            Given an example. Someone cuts me off without using their turn signal in traffic. I can be angry as heck that I was nearly in an accident because some fool decided to cut me off because he is in a hurry. My expectations would be causing me to feel that way. We went there already, this is judgment Matthew. Okay, my judgment of that person’s actions is that they were wrong for cutting me off and they didn’t use their turn signal so a police officer should be along shortly to pull them over and get them off the road and out of my way! What right do I have to demand justice? What is justice in this situation? What if that person didn’t see me because they are rushing home to handle an emergency? How would I feel if that person was on the way home to help out a family member who needed a ride to the hospital? I cannot judge that person, or their actions, because I am not in complete control or knowledge of the facts, all of them. God is the only one who knows all the variables and can truly judge anyone or anything in my opinion. Notice, I am not leaving that statement with a period. I said “In my Opinion”. I’m not even going to judge YOU if you read this and go “what a fool!” You are entitled to your own opinion, and I am entitled to mine. How should I tell you that I believe it is wrong to judge and then get offended when you judge me? If I was offended, it would be because I am judging you, for judging me…Wait, judgment is wrong? Yes, Matthew, judgment is wrong… try to keep up…

                So what if I’m SURE that the person is guilty and they did wrong and we all know it? Society blames this person and a judge and jury said that they are guilty as charged and they have been judged by society for their actions and found guilty! What then? Can you say that the person was wrong? Me? No, I can’t, but I can say that in a court of law they were found guilty. I don’t know what is in a person’s heart and mind at any given point in time, let alone during an act of committing a “sin” or “transgression” or breaking the law. We have systems in place to hold people accountable for their actions. When I die, I believe that I will go to GOD and answer for my sins, transgressions, and if the law gets a hold of me and judges me in a court for breaking the law, there too will I be judged. However, I believe that it is wrong for anyone to judge me without knowing the full extent of what was going on in every aspect at the time I act. Until then, I reserve the right to ignore the judgment others attempt to impose upon me. However, if someone should judge me or my actions, I won’t let my expectations get in the way and allow their narrow minded approach to hurt me or offend me. I won’t judge them for judging me.



©All Rights Reserved

14 comments:

  1. Interesting. I posted a video yesterday on FB of Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent. She blew that audience away with her song even though she wasn't the best dressed or the prettiest or the youngest contestant. I like to watch this video now and again to remind myself not to judge others by the way they look or act. Really good post.
    HMG

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  2. Well done. I agree with all your points. Funny to read Heather's comment - I have that video bookmarked to watch as well when I need a little pick-me-up.

    May I make one suggestion for your new blog? A lot of folks who use reading glasses find white on black REALLY hard to read. If you want to keep your color scheme (and I'm not judging you for your choice ;-) then maybe you could make the font a bit bigger or a little more unusual so that my tired eyes could see it more easily...

    Tina @ Life is Good
    A to Z Team @ Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2014
    @TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge

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    1. Thanks for the coment, I will change / fix the color issue tonight when I get off work. There will be more posts soon as well. Keep the eyes open. Thanks again !

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    2. Man, you got your next post up quick. Your points on judgment are well taken and make a lot of sense. Very good post, Matt!

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  4. Thanks for all the feedback! Much appreciated.

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  5. you're so right. however it feels right to judge someone who'd committed a heinous crime. but in the end, there IS a higher authority with whom they must answer and fortunately it isnt me.

    thoughtful.

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    1. Thanks for the comment. I agree that it isn't easy not to judge people for the standards that we set in society, and I partly believe that is WHY we as a society set the standards collectively. So that not ONE person is doing the judging but it is an agreed upon standard / law that people are using to pass judgment. As well as elected officials and judges to enforce said judgment.

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  6. I suppose that from a theological standpoint one might argue that since we are made in God's image we have an inborn inclination to judge. Probably we would do better to change the attitude of judgement to one of discernment. As far as humans judging I think even the judicial system gets it wrong, but I guess it's a system that's better than the chaos of lawlessness.

    Lee
    A Few Words

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  7. One of the hardest things ever to do: Quit judging! I know that I sit in judgement of others every single day. Sometimes it isn't right. But it IS what makes me human

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  8. I think that we all do our best to be open minded. Sometimes it's not easy. I do appreciate your thoughts on things. Thank you for the comments!

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