Judgmentalism

Though suspicious for some time, I had no idea the extent of how judgmental I was. I knew I used to be rather critical years & years ago. I thought such a blatant & basic tenet was behind me. I’ve constantly reminded myself to judge not, that I be not judged from Mt. 7:1
It was not behind me. Still, regular attendance to church services for over 3 years now, has wrought its work. Over time, I’ve come to judge others less, & take comfort as I noticed that my own faults are being met by the congregation w/ understanding instead of disdain. This isn’t to say that there haven’t been instances where these things have taken place (even recently), both by others as well as me. Yet, they’ve come to feel like the exception to the rule instead of par for the course.
The good that has come out of this is manifold. I’ll leave the obvious unsaid… but there have been surprises. For one thing, one reason I was still hanging on to judging others, I realized was because judging was being used as a survival tool. The follow up realization that it was an unneeded tool surprised me, also. Third, I engaged in judging others as a complement. That this, too might be wrong confused me. Seeing someone as having a bad quality is to judge them, but seeing someone as having a good one, is this not also a form of judgment? It was good to realize the sneakiness of the devil. Admiring someone, & the desire to encourage, that comes from that admiration, must somehow be different from some perceived good form of judgmentalism. Beats me how that difference could be articulated, but at least, now I know there is one. I am reminded of Paul saying that we are not unaware of the devil’s methods (2 Cor 2:11). Oops.
Jesus goes further in Mt. 7 about judging, saying that there is something to be said about our methods. Namely, that those methods not can, but will be equally used against us (I guess in a court of daily life). There seems to be no finer example than a personal one. However, before Jesus goes on to another subject, He seems to say something unrelated. He warns us not to throw pearls before swine, not only because they could be trampled, but that we too, could be torn to pieces. Yet, that’s exactly how we feel when someone judges us, after all.
I ‘ve also been suspicious for some time that it’s unrealistic to ever be 100% free of judging others. We just have to do our best… & that’s just it, my best continues to get better due to fellowship. Thanks to all of you over the past three years!