Stop me if you've heard this one

I am finishing up my day of study on the topic of communicating with "today's generation." That title seems so yesterday. Anyway, in studying for this I have sifted pages on topics from post-modernism to Christian worldview to intact, healthy family. I've considered new definitions for old words, a shift in an understanding of "objective truth" and my mind has been swimming through all these concepts. I am coming up for air to write down this simple entry before I make my end of the day phone calls and go home.

Will somebody PLEASE judge me?

Yes, you read that correctly. Please judge me. In a world of withholding judgment (skepticism), "who am I to judge" (fearful false humility) and "whatever works" (self-righteousness), I am asking someone to judge me. Take a look at my beliefs, my way of thinking, my claims to faith and then see if they line up with REALITY.

I guess you can hear in my tone here that I have lost my patience for this concept of "Don't judge me." I have been reading statistics over and over again about how many people view today's church as judgmental. That is a crock. We tend to be so grace-oriented that we expect little from people, and would call them to task over few (if any) misdeeds. One of the problems that we need to confront together in the church is our LACK of judmentalism.

One example in the news is the case in San Fransisco that has churches and their leaders all but mute while vile behavior takes place in their streets (Folsom Street Fair). In fact, speaker of the house (can you believe that?) Nancy Pelosi became speaker for the church (I thought there was some sort of "separation of church and state" she was interested in widening, yet as Speaker of the House she is speaking for the church) when she said that a twisted derangement of perverts arranged to mimic the famous "Last Supper" painting had no impact on the church. Pelosi's press secretary said it this way: "As a Catholic, the speaker is confident that Christianity has not been harmed." I would comment on this vehemently, but I use her words today only as an example of what we've become: "Don't judge anybody--it's the greatest virtue."

Here's my point: casting judgment on people's MOTIVES is wrong . . .

But casting judgment on people's ACTIONS is RIGHT. Judging people's behavior as "wrong" or "right"; "bad" or "good"; "evil" or "upright" is simply exercising GOOD JUDGMENT.

We are in for a swift and certain end of the Christian faith if Christ's followers stop calling evil, "evil," and good "good." That's not judgmental. It's only judgmental if I try to guess your motives for doing what you do.

If we won't teach your kids that one must exercise judgment, this world will teach them that any utterance that proceeds from their mouths that is based on an objective sense (from God himself) of right and wrong is sin. To these people, the only sin that exists is judgmentalism.

Parents, let us stop this business of "who am I to say." If you are following Christ and have devoted your life to Him then you carry His mission and are His representative in this world. You belong to Him.

Who are you to resist that call? Who am I to keep His words to myself? Who am I to call evil "good" when God has spoken?

Exercise good judmentalism. Change someone's life!