Have you noticed that one of the main objections to Christianity is that it is a list of dos and don’ts? People don’t like being told what to do. People especially do not like to be told “don’t do that!”
You can see why, can’t you? There are so many bits of conflicting advice and laws that we get confused, irritated and exhausted when all we want to do is get on with living life and finding some happiness in this rather strange world.
Our Lord also seems to get in the act. Be merciful. Don’t judge. Don’t condemn. Forgive. Give to others. How many times has someone said to you, “Jesus says not to judge. So you shouldn’t judge.”
Of course, we don’t take into account what Our Lord actually says.
“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. Condemn not and ye shall not be condemned.”
We must judge whether something is evil and condemn it. If a man murders another to steal his watch, we are surely able to make the judgement, “that’s murder!” and then to condemn the man as a murderer. That is just and right.
However, if we condemn someone as lazy because they are unemployed then can we honestly say that our judgement is sound and our condemnation correct? We know full well, that Our Lord is telling us that the only judgements we can make are based on solid and full possession of the actual facts, not on our personal assumptions. Murder isn’t always easy to prove, but when the facts are considered – motive, evidence and opportunity – then we can make the judgement. There might be miscarriages of justice, but look at how they happen. Miscarriages of justice occur when there is information that is missing or distorted – a gap in what is real.
And that’s the point. If we judge others based upon our own criteria and our own assumptions rather than on what is real, then that is the only justice that will be available to us.
Look at the dos and don’ts that Our Lord gives us. They are not arbitrary.
We must not judge without expecting to be judged – we will judge our own selves by our own standards. We must not condemn – we will condemn our own selves by our own standards, and no-one can do anything about it. Judging others and condemning others can’t put things right. They can’t restore the balance. They can’t undo the wrong. They can’t bring people back to life. Judgement and condemnation are only means to an end. They aren’t ends in themselves.
If we condemn someone for being lazy, what do we expect to happen? Do we honestly expect the person to immediately find a 72 hour a week job? Our condemnation does nothing because condemnation has nothing to give to put the situation right. In the same way, judging someone doesn’t make that person right. Condemnation and judgment aren’t the end. They can only tell us that something is wrong, and what is wrong may be with us.
But look at what Our Lord does tell us to do.
Be merciful. Forgive. Give.
Why?
Because that’s exactly what God does.
God judges, yes, and judges minutely. We cannot escape God’s condemnation of any one of our sins or wrongdoings. But that isn’t where God stops. God judges so that He can put things right.
God is merciful when we sin and that makes is easier for us to be reconciled with Him. Likewise, if we are merciful, then it is easier for anyone who wrongs us to be reconciled with us. Mercy does something about sin and evil.
God forgives us when we sin. This robs sin of its hold over us and allows us to turn to Him, knowing that there is a way back to Him. Likewise, if we forgive, then we rob sin of its power both over the one who sins against us and also its power over us. Forgiveness does something about sin and evil.
God is generous to us and gives us what we need. This restores what is good. If we are generous, with God’s help, we can restore some goodness to the situation reducing the presence of sin and evil. Generosity does something about sin and evil.
St Paul points out to us that the Law is very good about telling us about what is right and wrong, but can do absolutely nothing about it. God’s grace however, can do something about what is right and wrong. This is why we Christians are not playing pick-and-choose with which Old Testament laws we follow. We follow the ritual and ceremonial laws only in accordance with what Christ does for us in His Life, Death and Resurrection. Circumcision is upgraded to Baptism. The Passover is upgraded to the Eucharist. We follow the moral laws because Christ ratifies them in the New Testament. Murder remains murder. Fornication remains fornication.
The difference is that Christ gives us His very self to help us deal both with murder and the anger that leads to murder, and to help us deal with adultery and the lust that leads to adultery. Mercy and forgiveness do not stop the necessary consequences of murder and adultery, but they point us to the God Who can and will make all things new in Heaven.
Murder can be undone by the Master of Life and Death. Adultery can be undone by the One Who reconciles all who love Him in Himself. But murder and adultery can ONLY be undone by the One Who has perfect knowledge and perfect power. This is why we imperfect creatures have forgiveness, mercy and generosity as ways of putting away sin and evil until God undoes them completely in the New Heaven and New Earth.
We learn what is right and wrong from God’s law and, by educating ourselves carefully, we grow in that knowledge. By exercising mercy, forgiveness and generosity, our judgement and condemnation of evil will bring forth a greater love for our neighbour and draw us all ever closer to the love of God.
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