Judge Not or Ye Shall be Judged

Judge a tree by it's fruits, man!

I got an e-mail last night from a friend of mine.  We had been discussing the current LCWR review.  He was under the impression (as so many are) that the Vatican was trying to stamp out the personal freedoms of poor, innocent nuns just trying to live our their vocation serving their communities.

I admit I got rather heated at the thought of these women being pitied as a result of the media's false stories of heroism in the face of the big, bad Vatican.  These women should never - EVER - be held up as the gold standard for Catholicism.  The women in question shouldn't even be held up as a bad example of Catholicism.  Many have given up being Catholic long, long ago and just haven't 'fessed up to it yet.  Thus, use them as a bad example of Protestantism.  Please leave the word "Catholic" out of their mess.

Anyway, this friend chided me for my harsh words.  He quoted the oft repeated (and incredibly misunderstood) line from Matthew 7: "Judge not lest you be judged."

*Sigh*

I've already sent this friend an e-mail detailing my feelings on the matter (candidly as I'm apt to do).  However, I felt this a topic very necessary to broach with the general population as this quote is so often used by people in an attempt to bow out to political correctness. 

In my opinion, it's nothing more than an excuse to hide one's insecurities behind a veil of false nicety.

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Let's say my mother is driving a car.  We're about to take a curve too harshly.  Considering there's a canyon to the left of us, if she continues speeding, we're likely to tumble into the abyss.

Do I refrain from telling her to slow down because I'm afraid I might hurt her feelings for criticizing her driving?

No.  I like my life.

Instead, I'd say, "Hey Mom, you need to apply the brakes because if you don't, we're likely to take a tumble neither one of us will enjoy."

Would I be judging my mother to be a bad driver?  No.

Would I be judging her behavior to be bad?  Yes.

Might she feel as though I'd judged her to be a bad driver?  Yes, it's a possibility.

If she feels as though I've passed a negative judgement on her, does that mean I have?  No.

Even knowing that she might have her feelings hurt as a result of my criticism, should I refrain from suggesting she slow down?  NO.

As I've said in previous entries, I simply do not have the personality to sit on the sidelines while someone is acting in a way that is either harmful to self or others.  I can't.  I automatically put a familiar face on these folks and my decision is made - political correctness be damned. 

That is exactly what we are asked to do as Catholics.  The quote "Judge not, lest ye be judged" is often given as a means to stifle this responsibility.  However, if we read juuust a little bit further, we'll come to understand that this misrepresented quote (found on everything from billboards to memes to T-shirts) means something much different than the sound byte it's utilized as.

Here is the quote in its entirety (from the New American Bible, so the wording is slightly changed):

Jesus said to His disciples: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”  Matt 7:1-5

In other words, use your God-given intellect to discern judgement.  It isn't necessarily meaning we should condemn, but it's certainly charging us with the responsibility of properly judging all things with equality.

In fact, there are quotes all over the Bible specifically commanding this of us.

In the gospels, Luke echoes Matthew in Chapter 6 with "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven... For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

John (7:24) relays Jesus saying "Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteously."

In Proverbs (3:21), "Preserve sound judgement and discernment."

In the Letter of St. Paul to the Phillipians (1:9-11), "And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God."

And my favorite (also from Luke 6) stating, "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thorn bushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks."

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"See the good that we do and give glory to God."

That being said, we have a Christian responsibility to judge that which is presented to us in this world... ESPECIALLY when that which is presented wreaks of evil.  We must not allow such evil to continue spreading as a cancer.  The Body of Christ - OUR spiritual body - must be protected.  If we remain silent as these "religious" continue to misinform, polarize and confuse the general population, we commit a sin of commission.  We allow a greater evil to exist both within our ranks, and within ourselves through our silence.

This is exactly how the atrocities of WWII were accomplished.  Sure there were plenty of folks who disagreed with the Nazi ideals.  However, too many were silent for too long.

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First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

I, for one, cannot endure such silence.  I cannot wither away behind a false veil of "live and let live" when that includes allowing misinformation to fester and spread to my friends, family and children.  No.  It is my duty as a Christian to call evil out where it is and shed the light of truth upon the dishonesty and willful desecration of the Faith.

And those Christians among you who read this (be you Catholic or otherwise), this is your duty as well.  We must work together to bring the light of Truth to others.  We must not allow the lies, the half-truths, the confusion to tear souls away from Christ.