The world that we currently live in is full of hatred, violence, and cruelty. We often wonder why things have gotten so bad. I can tell you part of the problem. Each and every person on this planet is INCREDIBLY judgmental. There is absolutely no way around it. It does not matter who you are, you judge someone in some shape or form each and every day. Even a society that preaches on acceptance and "tolerance" could not be any further from that. Being judgmental is one of the key reasons that we all struggle to get along. We refuse to see other people's side of the story. We also think that if we "hear someone out" on an issue, we are going against what we believe. You can DISAGREE with someone without JUDGING them for believing it.

This applies to literally everything going on in society right now. Christians are judged because it is assumed that they hate homosexuals. African Americans are judged because it is assumed that can't be upright citizens. The police force is judged because it is assumed that every single one of them is out to murder our black population. The citizens of Middle Eastern descent are assumed to be terrorists and white citizens are assumed to be racist. And that is just covering race and religion. This also applies to little things like parenting. We TORE APART the family of the child who was killed by the alligator in Disney World. We called them awful parents and claimed that would have NEVER happened to my child. But what if it was your child? Have you ever thought about that? Ever put yourself in other people's situations? Everyone is different. Everyone has different circumstances. How can you sit at home and judge if you have never faced something similar? Let's be real here. What would you ACTUALLY do if you were in half of the situations we judge people for? Even entire generations of people are judged. Millennials are judged constantly for the way they cling to technology and handle things differently than the generation before them. Well duh? It would be pointless to separate out the generations if they were all the same. Overweight people are judged because everyone thinks that they just sit around and eat donuts. On the flip side of that, people refuse to understand those who struggle with eating disorders or depression. Instead they are judged because they can't "snap out" of it. Rich judge the poor because they don't think that they work hard enough. The poor judge the rich because they think everything was handed to them. The tiniest things are picked apart. The clothes you wear, the car you drive, the company you keep. If you own a gun, if you live in the north, if you live in the south. If you sleep in you are lazy, and if you get up early, you are crazy. If you don't go to church one Sunday, you are a heathen. If you drink or smoke, you are judged and if you don't? You are judged for that too. Who you decide to vote for will cause major judging no matter which candidate it is. If you went to a private school, you are stuck up and sheltered. If you went to a public school, you are trouble. All we do is judge judge judge.

I could literally go on for hours with a list of things that we judge one another for. But let's get to the issue here. We get so caught in the sameness of our lives that we refuse to understand other people. We can't look at a situation that we disagree with without automatically judging the other side for their opinion. I am not omitting myself from this. I would be the first to say that I judge people every single day. It is literally in our human nature to judge. But that does not make it okay. As a Christian, this really bothers me. We are called to LOVE one another, not tear each other down like we do every day. Jesus was able to dine with tax collectors and stand up for prostitutes. He was kind to Samaritans as well as his own people. It did not matter what color, size, occupation, or circumstance. He loved. And we should too. Start thinking about what you are going to say or do before hand. Put yourself in each person that you are judging's situation. Ask yourself what you would do. And don't answer that with what you should do. There is evil in this world. There are people who do wrong. But not every single person is out for darkness. So we don't need to be judging them like they are. We need to be purposeful. I don't think that this issue will ever truly go away. But, it can be helped a little bit. Love instead of judge. Try to understand people the best we can. Stay away from stereotypes and misinformation. Think before you speak. Pause before you gossip or say something that could make matters worse. If we could make an effort at this, I think that things would get better. Live purposefully and stay away from the judging. You don't need that negativity anyway. You definitely do not want to be judged, so don't do it to others.

// "And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them." Luke 6:31 //