Or doomed. Maybe doomed is the better way to say it.
Saw this meme on the Facebooks tonight, for example:
So maybe the meme goes a little overboard, blotting out things that don't necessarily have to do with judgment. But reading the comments. Oh, the comments. Context is everything. And it seems like the context people want is context that allows them to be . . . judgy.
So here's the pertinent context:
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
I am an imperfect person. Every time I manage to cast a beam out of the ol' peeper, more settle in or pop to the surface.
Context: Don't judge because you, yourself, are imperfect. Maybe work on your own sins and shortcomings before you dare judge others. Does that mean we don't offer help? No. Does that mean we don't pray for others? No. But it does mean we don't judge. Context or otherwise, "Do not judge" seems to be the kernel of these passages.
But boy are folks bent out of shape. They want context. Context so they can judge, it seems. And maybe I'm wrong; it's hard to see through all these beams.
Read if you dare.
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