Addiction to judging

Romans 2:1New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.

If forced to choose, I would have to say that there is no single issue we need to confront daily as Christians and even simply as human beings than judging others.  I mean, we do it ALL the time, don't we?

Can you think of a day where you didn't?

I can't.

I do it all the time anyway: to the driver who cuts me off; the person whose politics are the opposite of mine; the celebrity making a show of him or herself in the press (yes...I'm thinking right now of Kim Kardashian...); my husband when he forgets to do something he said he would; the politician who breaks a promise; the "other" denomination in Christianity that has a different theology from my own...etc.

It's as easy as breathing.

But it's difficult too.

It's difficult to change as a habit, partially because there are some things in the world so insidious that we feel we must judge them, but that very practice makes it even easier to judge even the smaller things.

But it is also difficult because I really think that what it does to us as human beings is damaging and bad for your overall well-being.

Think of what your body does when you judge.  Do you feel calm? Is your heart rate steady? Do you feel a general sense of ease and peace?  Is judging good for you?

I have long been a subscriber to the notion that AA gets it right in terms of healthy spirituality and that we could all benefit from a dose of it, because the reality is that I'll bet we all would have to admit we are addicted to something.

And I'm going to hazard as guess that one of the top things we are addicted to is judging.  It's something we probably have to each day face and deal with one day at a time.

With apologies to the first few steps from the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, I want to close  with a prayer that I've found helpful to start my day with.  This prayer I think can apply to anything we are powerless over, but for today, I want to use it with judging, since I think it is something we almost all can identify with.

Holy God, I admit that I am powerless over judging others and my life has become unmanageable. Only you can restore me to sanity and to healing and to wholeness in love.  Lord, I surrender to you this day asking that you guide my heart and mind to a healthier, more loving way to be with my neighbor and to seek relationship and reconciliation rather than judgment and condemnation.  Amen.