To Judge or Not to Judge

We live in a continuum of time. Our youthful indiscretions may have life long implications, or they might just make us smile. We all grow and develop major milestones in varying timeframes, because each of us is unique. We experience different environmental, genetic, ecological, nutritional, and social factors, to name a few. Many factors impact us and our development at any given stage.

Judge Not

We are told not to judge others in Scripture. It also says to judge activity, outcomes, and the fruit of a person’s life. We need judges to go through evidence and determine guilt or innocence. In the United States, we presume innocent until proven guilty… Or we used to. In the legal system, that is the way it is supposed to be. In the court of public opinion, however, we do not find this to be true.

Maybe it is because there has been so much injustice in our world. Maybe it is because of the love of hate. And, I know this will rub some people the wrong way, but maybe it is demonic. Perhaps, we are being deceived and driven by emotion.

Even that could be of a natural cause. Again, this will rub some people the wrong way, but we have been poisoning ourselves with all sorts of chemicals for years. From birth control pills to carcinogenic herbicides and pesticides and all sorts of crazy stuff in between. Consider the massive amount of the neurotoxic fluoride we add to drinking water.

When I hear, “Judge not,” I know that is only related to the status of a person’s soul. In all else we must judge. There is a right and wrong and a permissive and prohibitive to nearly everything. It is up to us to decide whether or not we will align with any directive.

Judge

We need to test all things to see whether it is worthy of our time and attention. I make an effort to decide whether or not I will align with something. We can call it evaluation, critical thinking, consideration, or any other term. We must examine, gauge, analyze, and extrapolate what the future repercussions might be. What the consequences could be. What outcomes might be expected from whatever decisions we make.

That doesn’t happen well in children without some deliberate and frequent instruction. Learning how to think critically doesn’t come naturally. It takes effort and it takes development.

Our brains are so intricate, that I’ve heard people who spend their lives studying them say they know virtually nothing about how it works. We are immensely complicated. Each of our trillions of cells has it’s own universe-like construction with built-in systems and plans for operation and abilities that vary tremendously. To think, each of us started from a single cell.

There are some generalizations that cross culture and boarders that we find significant in the realm of thought processing. As complex as our brains are, they develop in fairly consistent ways. It is generally accepted that the pre-frontal cortex develops in adolescence, reaching maturity around twenty-five years of age, for the majority of people.

For those who have experienced significant childhood trauma, it may be delayed. It may require professional help to intentionally develop the ability to think critically. We need to learn to fully evaluate situations from various viewpoints and different angles.

Court of Public Opinion

In the court of public opinion, how can anyone be sure of that they have enough information to make a judgment? Sometimes, people ask me what my opinion is about some national news. I seldom have any more information than the average American. Therefore, I generally reply that I don’t have enough information to make form an opinion.

The vitriol surrounding some current events seems misguided at best and evil at worst. We only know what the media tells us and many of us have our favorite news outlet. If we see through only one window, we only have one perspective. The amount of information available to us is totally overwhelming. There is far too much information for most of us to sort through.

We might not consider the veracity of the information we are exposed to, depending on the source. If we trust someone, we believe they have ‘good’ information. Thinking about the source, the motives behind statements, the ramifications of spreading the story, or the impact of the information takes time and effort.

Our reactions to a story, whether that is sharing on social media, calling our friends, praying, protesting, or doing anything at all also takes time and effort.

We Are Moved by Stories

There is real evidence that we are created for stories. It is in our DNA to be moved by them. Stories affect our neurobiology by increasing certain neurotransmitters and hormones, not the least of which is oxytocin. Adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol, and vasopressin are also directly influenced by the stories we hear.

These chemicals correlate with emotional responses. It is physiological. It may be completely devoid of logic.

That is why we need executive reasoning skills. David Phillips said, “The more emotionally engaged we are, the less critical we become.” It’s biologically wired into us. So, it is only by effort that we remain objective and engage in critical thinking.

A story can move masses of people to gather in an atmosphere of ‘group think.’ In that case all logic tends to go out the window. Breaking away from the crowd takes significantly more effort. The cause of the vitriol may even be proven moot. Regardless, the the cascade of chemicals isn’t easily quelled or reversed.

That’s why reporters can engage a crowd of protesters, ask a question about a comparable situation or a factual revelation and the participants are not able to articulate a response. They are consumed with the first story and moved into frenzy.

How Should We Respond?

Step back and ask yourself some questions about what you are hearing. Evaluate what you’re seeing and work on responding with a bit of hesitation and contemplation.

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