Why are we so quick to judge? That’s been the question on my mind recently. The Facebook/Twitter generation makes our immediate thoughts and reactions so accessible to one another, that hardly anyone thinks before they “speak” anymore. If you do a quick Google search for “quick to judge”, there are countless blogs and web sites where people are asking the question, “Why are we quick to judge?”. Many of them point to discussions about why Christians are so quick to judge, claiming we are being hypocritical (which I generally agree with).
But until you add the keyword “Bible” in the search itself, no passages are returned to the top of the results page. Yet there happens to be plenty on the subject in question. We may need to think about this more.
Our culture makes it so easy to judge things these days, it’s become a way of life. Vote for your favorite American Idol by texting, vote online for your favorite song or actor/actress with a single click, or voice your opinion on your own blog or someone else with whom you agree or disagree. It’s easy and immediate. We are constantly being encouraged to give our opinion, let alone have one. It’s assumed that we feel strongly about every subject one way or another, and it is our right/duty to voice it in some manner. My question: why?
You used to have to be an expert on a subject to have your opinion heard beyond your water cooler or family holiday party. Now, you can just as easily become a celebrity (think YouTube) just by doing something stupid. In many cases, the stupider (word?), the better.
It is interesting to think about why we have become this way, where we so quickly and easily come to judgment and declare ourselves experts on so many topics. Our ancestors might consider us all modern day “Jacks of all trades”….or maybe just fools. I wonder.
Take the example of the recent reality show/family disaster of Jon & Kate. Now, I don’t even have to say “plus 8″ for you to know exactly who I’m talking about. A few months ago, millions of people didn’t know this family existed, yet they happily lived out their struggles to grow as a family on TV for anyone to see. They seemed happy, and wanted to do this, so we decided it was a good thing.
Then, whether fame became too much or if they just couldn’t deal with life anymore, it all started falling apart. It seemed like the worse it became, the more interested the public become. Somehow, many even decided they wanted them to fail, while others proclaimed, “Who cares?”. Either way, almost everyone took sides before the inevitable downfall came and the couple decided to split.
So, I ask, why do we feel justified in having an opinion about their situation? Is it because we think we know them, because we were given an intimate glimpse into their personal lives? Or has it become our nature to simply judge whatever is thrown in our faces that week? I think part of the rush to judgment comes from the fleeting existence of most things that gain enough fame to warrant mass coverage on a national scale. We inherently know that Jon & Kate are here today, but gone tomorrow, so we might as well make up our minds before they become irrelevant (which they already have, as soon as a bigger celebrity died). To the news, it’s just another day, another story. Yet to us, it seems like a way of life.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m left equally frustrated and exhausted playing this cat and mouse game with the media. I truly do not care about celebrity gossip and what the latest story is. One reason I prefer the Internet as a news source to watching TV or reading a magazine/newspaper is that I can filter content to what I want to read, and can ignore the rest (except for those annoying pop-ups).
As Christians, shouldn’t we be challenging each other to live out what the Bible teaches about judgment? If we did, wouldn’t we be looked at as reasonable human beings more so than impossible to please hypocrites?
Consider this verse, and how it might change your perspective regarding how you react to the next breaking story “everyone is talking about”:
“For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again”. – Matthew 7:2



