I Judge Your Celebration

An American may never read the Bible, but he knows that Jesus said:

Judge not, that ye be not judged. for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

People who tell me not to judge often have this sort of bumper sticker. Isn't this judging an entire culture? — People who tell me not to judge often have this sort of bumper sticker. Isn’t this judging an entire culture?

Jesus did say it and He meant what He said. Sadly, Jesus did not mean our misreading of what He said. No sage is responsible for semi-literacy.

Recently, a Christian writer commented that we had no business, ever , judging anyone for anything. We should mind our own business. Leave aside the self-referential incoherence of judging people for judging people. There is merit to minding our own business. In working out the Socratic “know thyself” or the command to “work out our salvation,” we have enough to do.

I certainly lack the time to judge people I do not know for things I only dimly understand.

However, the same writer recently bid me celebrate the action of a celebrity. Celebrities are celebrated by nature, but this writer wanted me to honor the celebrity for courage. If I took this writer seriously, I would not be able to do so.

I cannot celebrate an action as brave without judging it and supposedly I am to mind my business and judge nobody. . . ever. How do I know if a man is being selfish, giving into desire, or being brave? I must judge, but I am not supposed to judge. If we take “judge not” in the foolish way we are told to take it, then we will never have a celebration or hold a triumph.

“Perhaps,” the weak minded critic will say, “we can judge, but only positively.” We cannot condemn anyone for anything, but we can commend the good. But how can we know the good if we do not know the bad? If we refuse to party for an action, are we not judging it?

If I give a medal to Barack and I give nothing to Hillary, neither condemnation or praise, then Hillary will get the message that I do not approve of her actions in the same way I approved of Barack. Hillary believes she is praiseworthy and I have withhold praise . . . a passive judgement that cannot survive a culture that refuses to actively condemn the most degenerate actions.

The day is coming when we will be told “celebrate or be damned” and the cowards will celebrate lest they be seen as judging. We will all get a party, all be heroes, because celebration will be the new tolerance.

Either that or we will learn to read well and read Jesus in context and see His wisdom. We must judge. Everyone does, but we must remember that the way we judge others is the judgment that will be leveled on us. We cannot have one standard for other people and an easier standard for self. Of course, there is some degenerate somewhere who will decide to judge nobody for anything . . . and then he will be judged by that standard. And so he will. He will be unable to enter Heaven because celebrating his life will be judgment.

He will be left in Hell, not out of a positive judgment, but because there is no other place to put a man who will not judge. Heaven requires approbation and this implies the possibility of condemnation. The man who cannot condemn cannot be rewarded.

And so it goes. We try to avoid nastiness and we end up with forced cheer and the mandated celebration of the foul, the pitiable, or the plain old wicked.