Judgment

What’s the first thing you think about when you hear the word ‘judgment’? After you think of the that, then continue reading.

Judgment can be a careful consideration before making a decision. Judgment also can be shown through action towards another person in the way they act or interact with others. Judgment can be a good or a bad thing, depending on how it’s used and acted upon.

Okay, I want you to think about the first thing you thought of when I asked you when you heard the word judgment. What was that? Was it making a careful decision? Ten to one, I highly doubt it. If I were to venture to guess it was when someone put their judgement on you for something you did, or did not, do that impacted you.

I had a young friend once that statement, “Don’t judge!”. These days, I look back at that young friend and still smile about his knowledge, his knowing about judgement, of a troubling world that we live in.

All too often we are too quick to judge other people. I mean it. We ALL are. We come to conclusions both verbally, and also in our thoughts from things we hear spoken, often being gossip or rumors, without going to the source (the person) in order to ask them WHAT the truth is. Sometimes when we judge others it’s a first time meeting experience and we don’t even give the newbie a chance. Why? Maybe because something “rubs us the wrong way”? I’m not saying that this inner thinking is right or wrong, but there are times we judge people without even giving them a chance.

Okay, I want to pause briefly to explain why I’m writing this particular blog. I’m writing it because I believe in today’s culture we AS A CULTURE are way too quick to judge (others), and I think this is wrong. Why?, Well, for one, we’ve never lived in another person’s shoes so we shouldn’t be judging them. And two, the bible tell us not to be quick to judge.

I’d like to share some of my life with you because I believe people relate through story most of the time in their daily life interactions this way.

In my life I’ve always felt “different”. I actually had a “painted turtle” tee shirt I wore regularly from 3rd-5th grade, until I wore it out which stated on it, “It’s okay to be different”. I wore that shirt once a week to school, if not twice–if it was washed again. I LOVED that shirt. Anyways, being I wore this shirt obviously I wanted others to know it IS okay to be different, and that I was a little different. Although from about Kindergarten-6th grade I had a small group of friends, I didn’t fit into a group or click of friends. After 7th grade I pretty much did my own thing, although I still had friends.

Life wasn’t easy in school. I never liked school, and I was bullied at school. I’d like to think I dealt with the bullying pretty good by ignoring people, but the words and actions towards me still hurt. I was judged by peers who, honestly, didn’t understand me, my life, my upbringing, or how I choose to live my young life.

Jumping forward to age 18. I’d just graduated high school and now had health issues. (If you don’t know, my mom and I wrote a book about this part of my life. Check out the book on my website under the BOOK tab!) After a few years of being sick, and also a few years later becoming self-employed, I had a lot on my plate daily which I was responsible for. Sometimes I felt as though people judged me, my life, my health, etc. It was interesting to me, through the next many years when talking to individuals that they seemed to think I had an easy life, not knowing about what was going on in my health, or how I’d gotten to the point in my life that I was. Mind blowing was sometimes the verbiage I would pick to describe how this felt to me. People are so quick to judge. What was even more interesting was that people would judge me without even asking if the things they’d seemingly heard about me, my family, etc., were true. Life was interesting…and never dull to say the least.

Why am I sharing these two snapshots from my life stories about judging? To help us ALL to understand we NEVER will fully walk in another persons shoes. We may never fully understand why people do what they do. That being said, I would hope that we would be willing to communicate through to others to help us each to understand one other better, and not be so quick to form a judgment on another individual.

I’m not going to lie. Life isn’t EASY. I’ve been judged in my life because, to this day, I am different. Not different in a prideful sort of way, just a different way of living life than those around me, the way of the world…at this point in history. I choose to stand out for my beliefs no matter how others choose to judge me. I care even less now a days of what people think of me than I did when I was a kiddo (didn’t care much then either, though!). I stand firm in my “yes” and my “no”. I try to live my life open and honest, sharing it with others via story, interactions, and example(s). And, I most importantly try my best to follow my heart, not my head. The head is quick to make decisions, firing instantly. The heart can be quick, but the heart is filled with love, life, and light. That should lead us in the right direction.

Judgment is tough and can be harsh. I hope that before we open up our mouths to speak that we would pause and think about the words that will be pouring out. May we choose to carefully consider before making decisions. And, that we may choose to breathe life into others, instead of harsh judgement, believing gossip, and believing lies heard from others.

Today I hope and pray that we would all choose to live our lives with less judgment and more love. May we be slow to speak and careful in pondering our words before delivering them to the recipient. As that young friend said, “Don’t judge!” Friends, it’s as simply stated as that. Don’t judge. Have a terrific day and may your interactions with others be uplifting, warm, and heartfelt!