Living in an Either/Or World

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For the judgment you give will be the judgment you get, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” Matthew 7:1-2

Dear Friends,

On Sunday, my “soliloquy” was as the brother of the woman who had a blood flow for twelve years. Part of what I wanted to convey was the impact on the woman of being labelled “unclean” because of her ailment. Though we do not look to adhering to all the Holiness and Purity Laws of the Old Testament as critical to our relationship with God, I suspect that we do have our own set of personal and corporate rules about who or what is clean or unclean…

For the Jews, the Law laid out rather clear rules for what made someone or something unclean. In the case of the woman healed by Jesus, it had to do with blood. In other instances, it was determined by leprosy, touching a dead body, eating or touching unclean foods, or coming into contact with non-Jews (Gentiles) or things like Roman money. The Law established a very clear society of who was “in” and who was “out.” Today, we have our own distinctions and ways of classifying:

Citizen/non-citizen      Native/immigrant       Good/Evil        Right/Wrong

Us/Them         Legal/Illegal    Safe/Dangerous           Ally/Enemy      Man/Woman

True/False       Liberal/Conservative  

One can characterize this as “Either/Or” thinking. Someone or something is either this or that. Many of theses classifications and categories can be helpful and useful. But often, we can make judgements about others and “put them in a category” that makes it more difficult for us to relate or be in relationship with them. I’m talking about things like racism and bigotry that tend to have us relate to people as being “less human” or having “less value.”

In my reading of the Gospels and Jesus’ teaching, he constantly busted up this kind of categorization. Instead of an unclean woman, Jesus saw someone in need of healing. He looked on every human he encountered as a child of God and related to them as such.

I don’t know about you, but I know I’m constantly making judgements and assessments about people by the way they look, dress, talk, and act. It seems like I can’t stop it! I can, however, notice that I am doing that and to remind myself that these judgements, Are not the truth! They are just thoughts that I have had. I can choose to not let them get in the way of showing love to them. When I do this, I’m being more Christ-like.

Peace,

Pastor Phil