I found the title of this post floating around the Internet a few years ago. I hear the “who are you to judge” line so often that I thought I’d comment on it. I’m not just blowing off steam here, I think we really need to put some thought into this.
Who am I to judge? I’ll tell you who I am. I’m me. That’s who I am to judge! Look, I’ve got 24 hours a day to get through and want to make it out alive. This requires making a few judgments along the way, doesn’t it?
The Difference Between Things
The first step is to realize that there is a difference between things. Not all things are the same. What is the difference between Nesquik and arsenic? Well, for one thing, arsenic is not trademarked and Nesquik is. But there is an even more compelling difference. A couple scoops of Nesquik in your milk really tastes good. A little arsenic in your milk will kill you. That’s the difference.
Who are you?
We are all persons. Persons are effected by things. Persons make choices. Even though our decision making process is often quite shallow, we still have to do it. When we have a choice to make we weigh the possibilities.
Making a Judgment
Not to spoil the ending for you, but the process of deciding between two things is called making a judgment. We make judgments all the time. Should I walk or take the car? Eat in or take out? Drink arsenic or dri… wait a minute! Drink arsenic? Why would I do a thing like that? Drinking arsenic would kill me. Being dead would suck.
But still…
Okay, sure. I can make judgments concerning myself, but isn’t it a little difficult to judge other people? Actually it’s not that hard. We do it all the time. In fact, every time that we tell somebody that it is wrong to judge we are judging them. Right to their face! As persons, we are making a judgment and telling somebody that they are wrong.
A Judgment-less World
Judging people is uncomfortable (except when we do it without realizing it – like when we make the judgment that it is wrong to judge). When we tell people that it is wrong to judge we are refuting ourselves because we have to make a judgment in order to be able to say this.
But what if we all lived up to our “do not judge” attitudes. Do we really stop to think about this? What would the world look like if we stopped making judgments? “Hitler! Stop doing that! It’s wrong.” Ahh! But that’s judging. And who are you to judge? “I’m going to take you to court over this!” Well now, if courts don’t judge I don’t know who does. So shut down the courts because it is wrong to judge.
Try this one day; go through your whole day, from sun up to sun down, without making any judgments. Is this worth experimenting with?
But see, now I’ve forced you to make a judgment. And who are you to judge? You’re you!
Whenever you tell people not to judge you, you are inviting judgment. We are forced to evaluate your statement. You made us judge you. And that’s okay.