This Isn't "The People's Court"

     I'll start out by saying I do not watch "The People's Court" T.V. show. I'm not saying I haven't watched it ever, I'm just saying I'm not a fan. The whole idea of going to court is a necessary part of our justice system, but in today's culture we are just a little to quick to do our own judging of right and wrong and innocent or guilty and I believe shows like that just feed the "I'm right and you're wrong" mentality. I find this to be especially true in our American society. It is a sad reality that we feel privileged enough to judge our fellow man on the basis of our own personal views, beliefs, or cultural norms. Do I believe that if you murder someone you should be held accountable for your murderous actions? Yes of course. On the other hand, do I believe we should be calling out someone because they have different political views than our own to the point of making a judgment that they are evil and we are above reproof? No way. What determines right and wrong, and who gets to make that determination?
     In most cultures some type of religious or moral compass sets the standards of what is acceptable thus creating a platform for one opinion or interpretation and also an opposing or alternate interpretation of the same principle or cultural norm. Which one is correct? Why does one have to be absolute? Who gets to make that call? Who among us is blameless enough to be the judge of his fellow man? As I stated previously, there are basic crimes that stand true in all cultures, no stealing, no murders, no abusing, no harming children, you get the idea and we can all agree those are things that we feel comfortable with a judge or jury presiding over. It's more the questions of principle, beliefs, and our moral compass that cause us to take sides. Conservative, liberal, right wing, left wing, far right, or ultra-left these are the areas of judgment that I am really referring to today.
     I turned fifty-six this year and in all my years I have not witnessed the level of judgmental one sidedness that is so prevalent today. Why does one side get to be right and the other side is cast as the enemy of all that is good and pure? Who gets to make that call? Why does someone have to make that call? I believe in the bottom of my heart that those that live on the conservative side of life feel like they are doing the right thing. I also would contend that those that sit on the left side of that same spectrum believe in their heart and soul that they are right in their moral calibration. I'm also pretty sure neither side has all the answers, or at least the correct answers to every one of life's right or wrong issues. When the crowd wanted to stone the woman for her past sins, how did Jesus respond? To paraphrase, I believe it went something like this, "If you haven't ever sinned then you go ahead and throw the first stone." John 8:1-11. Or, in other words, don't be judging others when you could be judged in pretty much the same manner. The fact is we all have opinions, and we all believe our opinions to be true, true to the point that we believe everyone else is wrong and that they must be some type of agent of evil if they believe differently than we do.
     I may be wrong about this, remember opinions every one's got one, but for me I believe we should live our faith, and allow judging to be done by the powers of right and wrong when it is time to be judged. If we live our faith then we are living what we believe to be right and others can see us living that faith and make their decisions about our level of right or wrong without us having to condemn the other person for their choices and lifestyles. But I do not want to judge someone for the faith they have and I really don't want them to judge me for my faith either. I would much rather estimate the value of a man by the content of his heart as opposed to the words that come out of his or her mouth.
"Judge not lest ye be judged ..." Matthew 7:1-3 would serve us all well. If you don't like the direction politics are headed, then run for office. If you don't like the laws or focus of an official then by all means campaign against the person's ideology not the person. We all have an opinion, and you are entitled to it, it's just not our place to be the judge of our fellow man nor his politics.
Coach Carter