What we must do when we realize our pockets are full of judgment

By Dean Collins

Sooner or later, we are all going to get tired of carrying a pocketful of rocks. It will take some mental and emotional effort for us ever to give them up. Honestly it will take divine intervention, but we will get to that later. In our current moment in history there is a focus on being completely accountable for your actions. I don’t know what percent of people want to live in a society where you are accountable for your every thought and action, but I believe most of us prefer some sense of authority to anarchy. The reason we will be carrying our pockets filled with rocks for a while is twofold.

First the law or authority is currently and will always be changed by the vote of the people. Sooner or later in a democracy, enough votes can be secured to create a new standard. So whether we like it or not laws can and do change. Some will the think the laws that change will be good and others not so good, and the process of changing laws will continue.

The other reason we will be carrying pockets of rocks is because we are generally more about condemnation than justice. Don’t misunderstand. Justice is critical, even biblical, but most humans would rather condemn than offer mercy and grace. We insist on consequences for acts of violence against anyone. Tragically, there has been disregard and disrespect for many in society and not just recently. Violence and the mistreatment of women, children, and people of different races have sadly been allowed or ignored all over the world and in every century. This is not acceptable. It is also does not reflect the kingdom of God.

Quick condemnation

And while we may come to agreement on much of what is unacceptable behavior, we will often disagree on the proper consequences for criminal acts. For instance, all of us would expect and even demand punishment for murder. But opinions differ about the duration of imprisonment and whether a death penalty is acceptable. And a discussion of consequences for other criminal and moral behaviors reveals a bigger range of disagreement. In our current culture, the only agreement is that people need to be held accountable. Social media and media in general seem to be our preferred courtroom, and facts may or may not be necessary there. Opinion rules supreme.

Quick condemnation is nothing new. Jesus actually dealt with much of the same. One of the lines from Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount is often waved by followers of Christ and those who have no particular interest in Christ. “Judge not...” we repeat when we don’t want any scrutiny to our preferred morality. Little regard for the context and even content of that verse is desired. We forget that the caution of this section of Jesus’s sermon isn’t really about preferences or evaluation. The focus was our human tendency to condemn other people’s behaviors while we ignore or hide our own mistakes. One of the humorous comments from Jesus illustrated the point; it’s hard to see the speck in another’s eye when you have a log in your own eye blocking your view. And of course we forget what Jesus said just a couple verses later about treating others the way we would prefer to be treated in a similar situation.

Trying to trap Jesus

Maybe the story in the Gospels that best illustrates this obsession with judgment and condemnation is found in John 8. The scribes and Pharisees certainly were on a mission to cancel Jesus. And the trap was set. They knew Jesus would be at the temple and that, like always, crowds would gather to listen to his inspired teachings. The scribes and Pharisees certainly didn’t think his words to be inspired. Their inspiration was the law, and they were the keepers and regulators of its interpretation.

We don’t know the full set-up, but I suspect it was not just coincidence that allowed the discovery of this woman’s adultery. And one reason it was likely a set-up is because we never hear a word about the man caught in adultery. He was also a law breaker, but the scribes and Pharisees didn’t seem to bother with his sin. They, like all of us, chose preferences over righteousness. So they threw the woman at the feet of Jesus. They were ready to snap pictures and record video, preferably with a little nudity because that would get more likes and retweets. The keepers of the law and culture had Jesus where they wanted him. They would force his hand to agree with them, and then they could judge him as well. Condemnation was their goal.

They asked questions and escalated the tensions. (Social media and network media must have learned some of their strategies from the scribes and Pharisees.) Jesus didn’t take the bait. He bent or sat down and drew or wrote something in the sand. What he wrote no no one knows, but there has been much speculation. And then he spoke: “Whoever is without sin go ahead and throw your stones that you carry around with you.” And then Jesus bent down and continued his sand art or writing. We don’t know how long it took, but eventually everyone either dropped their rocks or carried them away, leaving Jesus alone with this embarrassed and frightened woman.

Jesus stood up and brushed the sand from his hands and asked the woman where the jury went. “Has no one condemned you”? She answered, “No one.” Jesus replied that he didn’t condemn her either. He told her to go and sin no more.

Grace and mercy

The Jerusalem evening news didn’t play that story, and neither was there much in Facebook that day about it. Condemnation sells. Judgment sells. Grace and mercy less so.

Giving up our pocketful of judgment rocks will require a fresh look at Jesus and his kingdom ways. Jesus didn’t ignore immorality and sin. He spoke a lot about righteousness and even judgment. All sin has consequences. His teachings didn’t excuse behavior or even abolish law. But he did call us to examine our hearts, and he provided a once and forever way to deal with our sins. Acceptance of the grace and mercy of Jesus must translate into offering that same kind of love and mercy to others. And then he wants us to join him in spreading his good news of forgiveness with everyone. One day he will return and make all that is broken fully and permanently restored.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭John‬ ‭8:2-11‬; Matthew‬ ‭7:1-5, 12; Galatians‬ ‭6:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Photo by Raphael Nast on Unsplash