Pastor’s Perspective – November 2018 Newsletter

This is arguable, of course, but it is widely believed that the most ignored of all the sayings of Jesus is when he tells us not to judge.

Yet, there it is, right in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:1, followed by the story of the speck in their eye, and a log in your own.

On the face of it, it seems ridiculous. How could we possibly go through life without judging?

I have in mind the hundred or so decisions that have gone into the entrance and hallway renovation at First Congregational Church.

This wallpaper or that? How about the carpeting? Those decisions were all the result of considered judgment. It strikes me as impossible to avoid. And yet, I don’t think we can dismiss Jesus’ admonition so easily.

Two thoughts to share in defense of Jesus’ advice not to judge.

The first has to do with simple humility.

Even though we may feel like we are the most intelligent person around, and our thoughts are the best ones compared to others, and our experience on most matters is the most relevant, and our judgment has always been the most sound, we also know deep inside that is absurd. We actually only have our perspective, our tiny slice of perception which is never comprehensive.

Jane Goodall, the primatologist, put it beautifully.

“There are many windows through which we can look out into the world, searching for meaning …

…Most of us, when we ponder on the meaning of our existence,
peer through but one of these windows onto the world.
And even that one is often misted over by the breath of our finite humanity.

We clear a tiny peephole and stare through.
No wonder we are confused by the tiny fraction of a whole that we see.

It is, after all, like trying to comprehend the panorama of the desert or the sea through a rolled-up newspaper.”

There is a second, equally good reason not to judge.

This has to do with something we all have experienced. Something happens that we then judge as bad, and we find out later that it was a good thing. There are a thousand examples. We initially judged it bad because of reason #1, our perspective was too small, our knowledge too limited, and we weren’t able to foresee the way it could result in good.

“Do not judge!” has some stiff competition for being ignored.

“Don’t cast the first stone” comes to mind, as well as, “Don’t worry about tomorrow”.

But despite the fact we need to make daily decisions, not judging is healthy advice. A sense of humility befits us. And when we haven’t made up our mind about a person or an event, it opens us up to seeing from a wider, and perhaps more godly, perspective.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours,

Art Suggs

Thanksgiving Feast – Sunday, November 18th

• Update from the First Congregational Church Board of Trustees.

• Renovations of the parking-lot entrance are heading towards completion.

Says Church Elder Clare Price, “The new doors are in. The concrete ramp and curbs are poured, the inside walls, ceiling and floors finished – the construction is looking great!”