Judge Not

Judge Not, Fear Not, Love One Another, Forgive All

Whether or not you are a follower of the being who taught these fundamental, oft-neglected principles, they lie at the heart of most spiritual teachings.

The good news is, when one finally sees clearly into the nature of cause and effect, judgment of our fellowman disappears entirely.

Once we observe that all actions are merely a result of being caught in the delusion of our preferences, demands and desires—we really can drop seeing an individual as “bad” or “good,” but just another dear face of our fundamental human condition.  

We can really become free of our resistance toward others, and yes, we are the ones that become free when we release others from our judgment!

When we drop judgments, we don’t desire to rescue or “fix” anyone anymore.  We get off our high horse and respect our fellow travelers as big boys and girls who are learning just as we are.

We do hope they minimize the unnecessary suffering they both experience themselves and cause others in their process. But in the end, the only accurate judge is one that has ALL the facts. None of us have this, so ALL human judgment is blind and false.

Put simply, being human is hard.  For you.  For me.  For “them.”  

Our culture is one of swift, hasty, and loud judgment, and we’d benefit greatly by re-instituting a few time-tested ideas like “judge not” and “you cannot understand someone without walking a mile in his moccasins.”

Discernment, or the ability to determine the best course of action or decide whether to trust in something, is a personal matter.  This is called “our business,” and we should all keep to minding only that. 

When catching yourself worrying about another’s business, just realize how little you really know about what they’ve been through and all the causes and effects that brought them to this point, including how they were taught to think from before they ever had a say.

Think about the times you’ve mistepped or hurt another, or been misunderstood. Think about the times you’ve been a “bad person” and sent ugly, terrible thoughts, words, or actions into the world.

Think about the times you’ve been a “good person” and sent loving, forgiving thoughts, words, or actions into the world, or made a sacrifice out of compassion with no thought for the results.

We all are capable of ugliness and beauty.  

Realize you are not bad or good any more than a coin is tails or heads.  You are “coin.” 

We are all cosmic toddlers, and there are no bad babies.

Let only the one without mistakes judge another’s. Maybe we don’t have those same weaknesses, but we have our own.

Of course, we can discern for ourselves how much influence we allow any person to have in our lives.  But realize this also includes our attention. We can spend our time, attention, and energy taking radical responsibility for ourselves and creating an intentional life for ourselves. This work will leave no time for calling out the “bad guys.”   

Let us muzzle our judgment—of self, others, life, god, politicians, celebrities, “them.” If you are in an actual position of advocacy and change making, judgment won’t help the process.  For most of us, we aren’t, and our judgement simply becomes the poison we drink while wishing evil on another.

Judgment is a habit which can be broken.  It starts when we realize it only hurts ourselves. It causes you to draw a line of division between yourself and others, and veil of ignorance between your own light and shadow sides.  It is a breeding ground for pride and hypocrisy.

On the other hand, forgiveness is freedom.

As another wise man from my own tradition once said about judgment: “Stop It.”