Last week, I woke from a dream and managed to write down this very important message: when judgment is high, discernment is low. After taking some time to contemplate and seek God for further explanation, these are the thoughts I have.
As Christians, we know that we are not supposed to judge each other; since we are all deeply flawed, and we are prone to wandering, we cannot independently on our own maintain a standard of holiness to the degree necessary for us to fairly and accurately judge. So the short version is, Jesus said don’t do it (Matthew 7:1-3). The Lord also reminds us that justice and vengeance are His (Romans 12:19, Deuteronomy 32:35), and if we really believe in the fullness of His character and trust His authority as sovereign Lord, then we have to humbly reckon that our sense of justice is much lower than His (Psalms 19, Isaiah 55:8-9).
After all, we are human. Our emotions get the better of us in most cases. We forget what is convenient to forget and our brains are highly suggestible to plausible truth without substantiating the source and then holding it against the scripture. All of that vetting takes a long time, and I know before I started seminary, I was more likely to let things go without holding it up to the Bible for a perspective because I didn’t know where to look or how to inquire about contemporary issues in such an old document. (Google has become a good friend… I encourage you to make use of it!)
And yet it indeed part of our design to be able to judge, that is evaluate, for the purpose of making decisions. This is a different kind of judgment. In education, teachers use professional judgment based on their training and the criteria of the curriculum to determine competence. Any order that requires certification must have individuals who have experience and knowledge to declare yay or nay in accepting new members. Finally, in determining value, it is important to have a select few who can validate the quality and authenticity. I am sure there are many more applications that I haven’t even mentioned here.
Evaluation and entertainment have a long history together. Back when I was young, pageants were televised, and we waited up late to see who would be crowned Miss Universe. Televised talent shows were popular too, like Star Search. There was an understanding that the judges were competent to evaluate, and to keep things impartial, they were only briefly introduced and then did not appear on camera. Ballots and tallies were collected in isolation, and after deliberation, decisions were announced and prizes won. The judges were trusted, and even if we disagreed, generally their judgment stood. This form of entertainment was not a regular thing: these shows were special and would often pre-empt sitcoms, dramas and contest shows, so we looked forward to them. Games of chance were more popular, because they sold a dream that anyone could be rich, it all depended on luck.
By the early 2000s, contests and talent shows came back, but with a new focus on the personalities of the judge. The viewer was now aware of who would be rendering the final decision, and as such, the viewer was able to judge the judge on everything from their looks, demeanor and credentials. Judges would give their verdicts publicly and directly to the candidate, making the evaluation feel more personal and thrilling. We watched as candidates were crushed or relieved by whether they would stay on the show for another week. And suddenly, all viewers became judges…. of the performances, of the judges comments and of the judges. Suddenly, we were all qualified to say what was a good performance and what was “pitchy”. We judged the judges with the same language they gave us: we “made it our own”. We tuned in every week to see if our favourite nobodies-come-stars would make it another week.
It took a while to realize that reality TV is scripted, and footage manipulated to tell a “story”. We fell for the life stories and humble beginnings of these real-life characters, and we loved seeing the mean and prideful dismissed. Now the element of the game of chance was incorporated into to sell a new story: anyone can be a star, you just have to be discovered. (Another part of the story is that enduring judgment makes us better.)
This trend of judging without background knowledge has extended to other parts of life as greater development in technology put tons of information and data in our hands through the Internet. Smart phones made for smart people, that is, individuals had greater confidence that they were “right” because information was easily accessed and regurgitated. Eventually, questions arose about the validity of sources. It was determined to be a critical thinking skill of the 21st century to ensure that students know how to evaluate sources on the web. In spite of this, misinformation continued to spread to the point where “fake news” is actually a “thing”. Now we know that there are at least two sides to every story, and depending on your political leanings, you will pick which side of media to get your information from.
(Side note: I am starting to think that neither side is reliable anymore, because the first-hand sources and eyewitnesses can no longer be counted on to tell the truth. Testimonies that seem solid after a little digging turn up crucial information that significantly change the story. It is a good practice to take everything with a grain of salt.)
Now that everyone is a judge, qualified and certified by having a smart phone, we are able to consult information, validate the sources and as such make informed decisions about everything. In everyday life, we have decisions to make. What we wear depends on the forecast and season, as well as our experience living in the climate we know. We choose what we eat, and if we will exercise. We choose what music to listen to and what to do with our free time. We choose to work… or not. We choose how we react to news that directly impacts our lives and news that is coming from the global village. The choices we make, combined, provide a mosaic big picture of our character. Who we are can be pieced together by what we believe and what we do.
Social media adds another layer to this, beyond the impact our choices have our the development of our character. Social media sells a lie that every person is a celebrity within their own circle, and as such, their opinions and views need to be shared and evaluated for authenticity. The problem is that once they are shared, they become part of the collective set of “information” that we, the judges, now pick apart and construe our own meanings from. People are no longer judged by the mosaic; in one fell swoop an event from the past can be blown out of proportion and ruin a career. Or an attempt to reinforce a popular message that everyone else is saying is judged as being inadequate or not demonstrative enough. We are the stars of our own show, and as such, we will amass in our followers critics who may not be qualified to judge us, but sure feel entitled to.
I believe Jesus wants us to have an opinion; He created us with the ability to evaluate for the purpose of making good choices. Choice is very important to God- He specifically created humans with the ability to choose so that we could be more than servants and instead, sons and daughters. Choice matters so much to God that if you choose not to roll with Him, He will respect it. Spiritually, He will always be longing for you, and trying to set up people and events to break into your everyday life and remind you that before time, you had a first love who loved you before you knew how to love. But ultimately, He will let you decide.
When you step back and look at our design, we truly have beautiful minds. Sadly, they are being rewired and manipulated to destroy us from within. This mental war is very hard to articulate. Everyone recognizes the effect of stress, negative thoughts and poor self-esteem that drive us to our own end. People keep saying we need to do things to alleviate this, but there are no answers on how to solve the mental health crisis. Our own natural brains are turning against us, regardless of our nationality, race or culture, and we cannot detect who the enemy is. The enemy is Satan himself, the war is for your soul, and the Triune God, is your Creator whose creation is being used to destroy itself. When you want to be angry at another human who is flawed and bruised just like you, remember who your real enemy is. This is essential to making it through days like these.
Back to my dream: The Lord reminded me that our ability to judge for ourselves can have negative consequences if not kept in check. The Apostle Paul wrote that knowledge puffs up and inspires pride, and pride unchecked leads to errors in judgment (1 Corinthians 8:1), but even more than that, pride sears the conscience (1 Timothy 4:2) and obliterates humility (James 4:6, Proverbs 16;18, Phillipians 2:3-11). When we are no longer humble, our blindspot increases and we are not able to see the error in ourselves. The choices we make and the persona we project through social media becomes synonymous with our identity and seeks to replace our identity in Christ. This persona will not cultivate fruits of the Spirit. It seeks to dilute the activity of the Holy Spirit in your life, and replace the voice of God. While not everyone may have a spiritual gifting for discernment, generally, the Holy Spirit does give all believers a dose of this to guide you in living for Christ. Snuffing out His presence will make it harder to live for Christ because you will not hear His voice anymore.
Let’s make the choice to put Christ first. There are a few things that can be done if you see yourself falling into a similar pattern of behaviour as described above. First: spend less time with devices and more time with Christ, old school. Like read the Bible or pray. I guarantee you at first you will find the task impossible, because our minds are already so accustomed to waiting for notifications and FOMO. If you can do more of this, you will begin to break those negative patterns (and this is consistent with secular research on how to take care of yourself mentally). Once you’ve worked on being still and quiet, without goals but just focusing on God, ask Him to renew your mind. Ask Him to guide your reading of the Bible to see what your identity in Him is. Read it, or if you can’t kick the device yet, search it up and then ask yourself, am I behaving like God’s child? I am cultivating the habits I need to in order to properly represent Him? Beloved, we cannot hope to bring the love of God to people when we are routinely participating in the abuse of the vehicle that brings it to them. Remind yourself actively that you are in this world right now, but the best is yet to come for you as a child of God. In keeping with the car analogy, you will incur damage on the road and through usage of the vehicle that is your body and mind. The remedy for damage is still the same: renew your mind through practising the spiritual disciplines but the responsibility of tune ups and oil-changes are up to you to maintain.
SOMEONE TELL ME THAT THIS IS TOO HARD. Sis, you are right! Living for Jesus is hard right now. There is more maintenance to do personally than it was sold to you when you were going to church where all you had to do was attend and sit and enjoy. By now you must realize that there are fires all around you, no matter where you live. Tings falling apart girl. Now is time to make haste and work on your relationship with Christ! The same way you prioritize working out, or eating right, except He is more than a habit. He is God, expressed in the Trinity, and within that complex system has experience with human pain, suffering and nature, as well as living daily with humans throughout time. If you think about it, the Holy Spirit is a constant presence on the frontlines, able to convey to the Godhead what’s going on and how bad it’s getting from our point of view. As God’s child you are meant to be a part of those conversations, but to hear His voice in these times, it is crucial to set some time aside and work on it.
God bless you. Write me nah. (secretsfromursister@gmail.com)