What Kind of Christian Are You? Part 3: Doula Lama Says Love is the Absence of Judgment

I have tackled exclusion in my last post, but as I eluded to, this is a symptom of a greater illness. One that's roots are deep and twisted and often very ugly. Its bark is jagged and sharp and its branches are barren and fruitless. And like the serpent, it deceives us. Eating of its fruit causes us to believe we are God. I am referring, of course, to judgment. Luckily, for many, it is curable.

Mother Theresa said that when you judge someone, you don't have time to love them. That is because, like serving two masters, it is impossible to simultaneously do both. There is no greater commandment than love. If we, as Christians, believe that EVERYONE (yes, even that guy...you know the one) was made in the image of God, then to judge them is to judge Christ. We all sin and fall short. ALL of us (you, me, AND that guy). And there is no hierarchy of sins.

While judgment is something that knows no bounds, I have seen how this rears its ugly head in the choices that parents make regarding the birth of their baby. In an unpredictable occupation where there are hardly ever any “right” answers, all any of us are left with sometimes are best guesses. Hindsight is not an art form, but a resource left for the lucky. It is for those that are less than brave who wish to sound intelligent after everything is said and done. All of us have the benefit of looking back and seeing where mistakes took place after the fact, it is the discernment and wisdom that it takes to make these decisions in the first place where courage truly lies. And unfortunately, informed decisions often rely too heavily on biased and imperfect sources.

I see this in raising children. It took most of us at least two (or three) decades to become 'adults' and only a few short years to forget about what it was like before then. How quickly we forget what life looks like through the eyes of a child! And how fast we are to judge them for their lack of experience or knowledge. Then, with tongues that cut like a sword, we tell them they are wrong for acting like us and that their opinions and feelings only count when they are taller. We are the first image of God that our children meet. What kind of God are we portraying to them?

And lastly, the imperfect people who make up the church. We are saved by grace, not because of the idols in our heart, but in spite of them. Therefore, there is no need for pretension. In fact, there is no room for it. Other Christians and non-Christians both know better and we are committing an injustice by pretending anything else is the truth. Perfection makes Jesus irrelevant, when in actuality, He is the point.

So, what kind of Christian am I? The fumbling sinner, saved by grace, who only occasionally knows some of the right answers and even less often puts them to use.