Having diligently studied Matthew 7,
Right up to the comma, noninclusive,
He is now expert on the teachings of Jesus
And can tell you exactly what you ought not be doing―
Which includes, chiefly, reminding him of certain matters
Of diligence regarding those teachings―
Things he had already put out of his own mind
To be ignored indefinitely before you came along,
Showing yourself likely to be getting in his business
Because some people just know what sort you are.
He is clever, and has learned not to engage you directly
In his own defense, since experience hath shewn
That it so often turns out badly for him.
Alternately, he has figured it the better to engage you,
On account of judging others, whenever he can
Catch you doing what may be construed as such.
For in that case, he need not risk being seen
Playing self-defense against your intrusions,
But may don the valiant mask and cape,
Waxing superheroic as he swoops in
To defend the poor souls from your “legalistic”
Corrections and criticisms―Shame on you!―
As if God had appointed you to help your neighbor,
Rather than to mind your own business.
The audacity!
He is Defender of the Faith,
Protector of the Helpless,
Critic of Critics.
Judge of Judgers,
Enforcer of Non-Enforcement.
Ruler of Anarchists.
He will put himself upon you,
Quite exactly as he is convinced
You ought not put yourself
Upon others―
Ungolden as his rule is―
In hopes of buffaloing you into submission.
He slaps his “Judge Not!” card
Boldly on the table, hoping like Hell itself
That you have not ventured
Beyond the comma yourself,
And won’t be able to discern the bluff.
And having swatted you sharply on the snout
For judging others―
What a bad dog you are!―
Mr. Pavlov knows full well he is conditioning you
Indirectly not to judge him, either.
And make no mistake about it, for
This is the very goal of the charade―
The self-defense of the thing―
No matter how much he claims to care
For the souls of the ones you would correct,
For he will deprive them of the life-giving rebukes
They need, just as he will throw you under the bus
If it can help him keep depriving his own soul of the same.
They’ll likely love him down at the church,
For he protects them all at his own expense,
And to their great relief.
He is their champion―
More than Jesus―
But don’t expect them ever to
Say it out loud.
And they haven’t figured it out yet,
But they love him because he
Protects them from Jesus,
Warding off the blows of that
Heavenly training and discipline.
But underneath that mask, he is scared of Jesus,
And cannot bear to hear beyond those
First two words of Matthew 7.
So he pretends they constitute
The whole of his gospel,
And prides himself on the faith he has
In those two precious words:
Judge not.
Matthew 7 in its entirety here. (opens in a new tab)" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="ek-link">You may read Matthew 7 in its entirety here.
And here’s a piece I wrote years ago on the Judge Not Fallacies. This is a prime example of an area in which matters that are cognitive and logical in nature are front-and-center in one’s spiritual life as well. They cannot be successfully separated.
The first and greatest commandment is this:
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Jesus. Mark 12:30. ESV.
So many are terrified, however, of letting Jesus have all their mind. They do not want to use it to think through all of Jesus’ teachings. They do not want to make the judgments he wants them to make, nor the decisions and discernments and distinctions. They don’t want the particulars of life to be that clear, and would much prefer a fuzzier view of the world than Jesus’ view. They are inclined to like the general idea of Jesus, so long as they can avoid the part where he wants them to bring the activities of their own mind into conformity with the mind of Christ. For this, they are unwilling. So they resort to gaslighting everyone else, in hopes of getting them to shut down their minds, too.
There’s an old saying in business that may relate somewhat to their “Judge not” strategy. It’s this: “A rising tide lifts all boats.” But in this case, the point seems to be more like, “A lowered barre makes it easier on the whole ballet class―including me, of course.” These are those who are always working to lower that barre―who don’t care that they can’t become excellent dancers that way.
