To judge or not to judge

During my career years in both chaplaincy and the pastorate, I often heard people voice their complaint against organized religion. I'm not proud of the fact, but my responses could be a bit snarky. For instance, when folks complained, "Religion is a cash business," I'd say, "No. We take credit cards too." When they accused the church of being "full of hypocrites!" I'd reassure them that it wasn't yet at full capacity -- "We have room for you, too." Often they joke in return, asking if "my boss" will do something about the lousy weather. I liked to say, "Sorry. I work in sales, not customer service." But I'll admit I lose my levity when someone judges religious people as being "too judgmental." For instance, whenever I use this column to criticize our president, some readers will say I'm being "too judgmental." They often rebuke me with Jesus' warning to "judge not" and will advise me not to "cast the first stone." My response, not as witty as the others, is that I follow a Judean teacher who pronounced more than a few judgments. He wasn't one to throw up his hands and say, "Hey, whatever floats your boat. Who am I to judge?" Actually, he said, "The world is against me because I expose the evil behind its pretensions" (John 7:7). As a resident of this planet, it's essential that I make judgments. As a person of faith, my judgments must follow the guidelines of grace that require me not to judge the heart of another person. "How do you balance grace and judgment?" you ask. The answer might come from Judge Abner McCall, the late president of Baylor University, where I attended in the late 70s. "When people ask about the difference between our Christian University and a secular one," he said, "I tell them this: If our professors give you a failing grade, they'll sit down and cry with you." McCall was teaching Baylor students that professors are perfectly qualified to judge a student's work. However, with his reference to tears, McCall was saying this judgment was accompanied by an offer of grace after failure. Being people of faith doesn't disqualify us from speaking on moral issues. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Spiritual folks are obliged to speak for those who have no voice. We are compelled to challenge the face of injustice. For instance, during a President's Day trip to St. Louis last month, I marched with local clergy onto the Martin Luther King Bridge to condemn the carte blanche policy of the current president to detain innocent immigrants. For me, this "condemnation" represents my valid spiritual judgement as a faith leader. Pastor and theologian J.D. Greear put it best when he concluded his "Christianity Today" article on the subject of judgment. "Don't judge others by withholding the truth. But don't judge them by speaking the truth without grace. … Truth without grace is judgmental fundamentalism; grace without truth is liberal sentimentality." Mr. President, I hope you find both grace and truth in the judgments of my fellow marching clergy. Norris' four books of his past columns are available on Amazon or at www.thechaplain.net. Contact him at comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or at his church office, 530-265-4711.