Judging
So having thought about pleasing others in what we do – or not, that must make us think about how we judge others.
Personal preference is just that – personal, what suits one will not always suit another. It can become so easy to sit in judgement on others.
Here is a very public difference of opinion about an amateur skaters abilities
It shows the dangers of taking on judging others.
Who are we to judge someone else?
If we think someone is doing the wrong thing, do we know what their situation is? Do we know where they are starting from? What their problems are? How they have come to an understanding of what they have to do?
If we think someone is wonderful, do we know what other things they do in their life? What secrets they harbour? How they treat their nearest and dearest, or their employees?
We only ever see of someone what they present to us. There will be far more to them than that.
So we shouldn’t judge.
We should leave the judging to God. We should just except people and what they have to offer. We shouldn’t nit-pick or feel we could do better. They make their offering and it’s up to God to decide wether it’s “acceptable” or not – not us.
And when tempted to judge anyone, we should always remember:
God judges me
Perhaps we should focus on that thought before we start judging anyone else.
Lord
help me not to judge.
May I accept what others do for you,
even if it is not what I would do,
or how I would do it.
May I always remember
that you judge me,
and think of that
before I think of someone else
Pam's Perambulation 
[…] keen on the idea of judging (I’ve definitely engaged in conversations with @headphonaught and @pamjweb about this), feeling that we each have our individual ministries and the only judge is God. I […]
drbexl.co.uk | Thinking about ‘awards’… (#CNMAC13) said this on November 25, 2013 at 12:03 am |
I think this https://pamsperambulation.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/naming-the-top/ is probably my main post about it. To me, blogging and tweeting are about ministry (That is clearly not how everyone sees their offerings though). What one person considers “mediocre”, may be someone else’s lifeline. We cannot quantify or judge that.
Of course we want posts and tweet to be the best they can be, but just because a judge doesn’t think they are, doesn’t mean that they aren’t. My best, is my best, whether it measures up to someone else’s standards or not.
And we all have different styles. No way is more ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ just different. Some will appeal to more to one person, some to another, but all are valid. By all means highlight good practice (which again has it’s elements of subjectivity), but awards and rewards and naming lists of “top”, especially when implying anything else is mediocre is really not helpful to those trying to do their best???
A side issue is that if there are no published criteria, how can anyone know why those chosen ones have been selected?. If it is about showcasing the “good”, how does anyone know what they are supposedly meant to be emulating? SO they fail in that criteria anyway.