Survival Skills

Are you judging me?

Hi everyone,

We are always judging!! We judge our appearances, and other peoples appearances. We judge people’s comments, and attitudes. We are judging the first thing we notice about someone. We are the judge and jury in certain situations. But, are we using facts, or utilizing our own homegrown feelings when we are making judgements? Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it’s stupid.” I believe judging is necessary, but left in the wrong hands, or the incompetent, this will be a recipe for disaster.

By the way, who are these judges? Who’s judging who? Who’s the better judge? Who’s the credible judge? This is definitely a delicate subject. I would have to say that I can be a better judge if I’ve had experiences with a particular body of work, or situations. I can be the best judge if I’ve a proven track record. I am the better judge if I am a licensed professional. I am the better judge if I’ve gone to school and received a degree(s) or certificate(s). I am the best judge of character if I am of good character and nature. What do we use when, and how, and with whom? About 10 years ago a business executive shared with me that a person who demonstrates poor judgement can’t be helped, and there is no amount of training that could be provided to improve their judgement skills. That is a valid point since judging is a natural instinct. Shouldn’t we proceed with caution before judging?

I believe there should be a protocol for judging! A list of do’s and don’ts, as well as a list of prerequisites.

Here are my prerequisites:
1) You must have emotional intelligence.
2) You must have good social skills.
3) You must be mature.

Check out my list of Do’s and Don’ts:
1) Do a thorough research before you judge. Educate yourself.
2) Do check your yourself before you judge. Are you feeling defensive?
3) Do take time to speak with experienced, and/or professional individuals before judging. Refer to subject matter experts.
4) Do not speak before getting your all your facts straight.
5) Don’t share your personal opinions, this could skew the facts.
6) Don’t utilize incomplete information
7) Don’t leave out the details it could lead to miscommunication
8) Don’t evaluate before getting the whole story.

Share your views on this topic, and please add to my list of do’s/ don’ts and prerequisites.

Thanks,
JAM

5 thoughts on “Are you judging me?”

    1. Absolutely! Unless you have walked in that person’s shoes or have all the objective facts/data, one has no business judging a situation that is foreign to them. May God continue to guide us to be more empathetic to our fellow humans.

  1. Thank you for this BBV. I will be more aware of my conversations with people. I tend to be a bit judgmental. I look forward to your future post.

    Love DLJ

  2. I am not sure I’m of the school of thought that Judging, in its entirety, should be condone. However, I am of the school of thought that one should interact with people and situations around them based on their firsthand experience with the individual and/or situation. I Concur! There should be a protocol for judging! But I do know we all –as humans– “do pass judgement” despite God’s decree on the subject. God expect us not to judge his anointing. As His children, we are all His anointed ones. The bible teaches us that even Jesus refrained from judging during His time on earth – “And He said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?” Luke 12:14.
    Yes, judging is a natural instinct for us humans. But if we all ask ourselves “what would Jesus do?” before proceeding with judging ourselves and/or our fellow humans, this world would truly be a better place. We all would be doing our part to corroborate Mr. Albert Einstein quote as cited in your post, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it’s stupid.”
    I like and respect your lists of prerequisites and do’s and don’ts. However, I would like to see people Judge less and Love more! Really, Love thy neighbor as thyself. Because with love,
    1) We see beyond our own and others insecurities.
    2) We express empathy before judging.
    3) We seek out facts and details of the whole story before CONCLUDING.
    Shalom!

  3. In this age of social media. We have created a whole platform to judge/ like each other. Judging each other has become so common, we don’t realize when were doing it. It’s just done. Render us all constantly seeking and looking for judgement/approval of others. In the process we are missing opportunities to self reflect. As well as, judge/refine those closest to us and that matter’s the most.

    If I get ten thousands likes by strangers but I don’t like myself, is that a good thing? I will likely always judge others. However, I better judge myself first. The Bible ask us: Why do you wipe the speck out of your brothers eye, but ignore the plank in your own eye?

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