JUDGMENT

The weekend before Christmas, we did a production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at our church.  It was delightful giving a lot of kids a chance to be on stage and receive the applause of our three sold out houses.  So we only had 85 seats available for each show, but still it was sold out!  Each night before the show we would have a little prayer led by the director who happened to also be my daughter, Alison. During one of those prayers, one of the “baby angels” provided us with a wonderful example of something that people love to do but I am not sure always realize that they are doing.  In this case, little Johnny noticed during the prayer that one of the other baby angels had his eyes open during the prayer.  Johnny, feeling compelled to enforce compliance, said in a whispered but still audible voice, “Jack, close your eyeballs!”  Of course, the contradiction is obvious to us mature adults!  How can Johnny know that Jack’s eyeballs are open if his are closed?   

Doing a full production play was a new experience for our small congregation.  We had another Christmas experience that has become a tradition.  Every year for the past ten or so, we have volunteered to ring bells for the Salvation Army on Christmas Eve.  The last few years, we have taken the whole day to ring for a kettle at the entrance to a local grocery store.  Families sign up for half hour or full hour shifts and there is a group that typically takes the last 90 minutes and sings Christmas Carols.  My family and I have always been a part of that group.   It has become part of the holiday that is a real blessing.  It’s fun.  People smile and we have some great conversations with each other and with those passing by.

As we were in the last half hour, a lady walked past us and then returned with a look of determination in her face.  She clearly had something to say.  I can’t vouch for the word or word account but the interaction went something like this:

Lady    “Are you with this group?” (looking to the Salvation Army sign above the kettle.)

Me       “I’m sorry?  Are we with this group?”

Lady    “Are you with this group?  Do you believe what they believe?”

Me   “Oh, no we are not with the Salvation Army.  We are volunteers from a church. The Salvation Army has volunteers ring the bells for them and we like to sign up on Christmas Eve.”

Lady    “Do you believe what they believe?”

Me     “We believe that Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior.  I can’t speak about what the Salvation Army believes beyond that because I am not a member of their group."

Lady    “Do you know that they believe that homosexuals should burn in hell?”

Me     “I am not sure what you mean but I do not think that any Salvation Army person would say that exactly.   Where did you hear that? ”

Lady    “I read it somewhere.  I think it was in Forbes magazine.  What church are you from?”

Me     “We are from First Baptist Church.  We are ringing the bells to raise money to support people who are helped by the Salvation Army.”

Lady    “Well, I will write a check for your group, but I am not giving any money to them.” 

At this she turned and walked away.  Reading this does not accurately convey the tone of judgment that she brought to the conversation.  She clearly believed she needed to have an argument for justice.  I think she even might have thought that it was the Christmas thing to do; to confront wrong and not just walk past it.  Good for her. 

But like so many people - like baby angel Johnny above - she was engaged in her personal judgment about another - in this case - group’s judgment, at least as she perceived it to be.  She was judging judgment.  She fulfilled Romans 2:1 in which Paul confronts all of us with one of my favorite verses in the Bible if only because it never ceases to make me uncomfortable:

“You therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

Paul goes on to talk about how God’s judgment always makes sense due to the unique perspective God has on every situation.  But our human judgment is always compromised by our limited perspective.  And our judgment of others almost always promotes division.  It was clear from this nice lady’s demeanor (and she was nice even in her emotional urgency) that she was much more interested in making a point than in resolving a difference of understanding.  Her final point emphasized her disdain for the Salvation Army as she perceived them to be.  She said she would write us a check (First Baptist Church) but wouldn’t give any money to them.  She had never heard of First Baptist Church and had no idea what, if anything, First Baptist Church believes about homosexuality or anything else.  But she was ready to say that she would write us a check rather than support the Salvation Army.  (The topic of saying what we are going to do to prove our point and then not actually doing it is for another time!  Perhaps the nice lady really will send a check, but I am not holding my breath!  And not because I know anything about her but because I know how many times in my own life I have said I was going to do something out of some momentary conviction but have not followed through and actually done it!)

Ringing bells for the Salvation Army in front of the grocery store on Christmas Eve did not seem like the proper place to engage this particular person in a conversation about homosexuality and the Bible and Baby Jesus and so on.  Perhaps I missed an opportunity.  But in my view, the first step in any conversation about this or any other controversial topic is for each party to recognize figuratively, “Hey, I am praying with my eyes open, too!”  We have to be able to move past emotional judgment from our limited human viewpoint and acknowledge that judgment itself, regardless of the topic or viewpoint, in a big part of the problem.  There are real conversations about real issues that need to be held in order to bridge the gaps of anger created by our well-developed skill of judging others.  Setting up proverbial Straw Men (“I read in an article in Forbes magazine that such and such group believes this or that topic which is important to me.”) and then knocking those Straw Men down through the power of our own righteous judgment will not move us personally or our communities, nations or even world, any closer to real peace and reconciliation.

This isn’t exactly a measureable resolution, but I hope to work with myself and with others toward recognizing first where my own opinions and judgments come from and taking responsibility for those.  From that place I resolve to work on real reconciliation in my family, church, community and world.

God knows who is “praying with their eyes open.”  I suspect he doesn’t need my help to point it out!

Jim
www.jmoservicesllc.com

Read Jim's book: Fool's Gold: Searching for Goodness in the Human Heart
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