The other day I had a friendly discussion about God with an agnostic co-worker. My co-worker had grown up a certain religion, but then later in life had become agnostic. He became disenchanted with his religion after realizing that it was more divisive that it was unifying. He felt that religion should bring unity and fulfillment to the world, not judgment and hatred. I agreed.
He pointed out many examples where in the name of their god, people have hated each other and inflicted harm upon each other. A well known example in the history of Christianity are the crusades which claimed many lives in the Middle Ages. Even to this day, there is plenty of bigotry "in the name of Jesus." My co-worker ended his statement by mentioning that religion only brings more judgment and intolerance towards others of different beliefs.
What's funny about this conversation with my co-worker is that even though I understand where he is coming from when he says that "religion" just brings more judgment and hatred, I personally have had the opposite experience through my experience with God. God has helped me judge less and love more.
The only way I can explain this is that there seem to be two types of Christians: those that are still earning their salvation through "being a good person" and those who have been transformed by God's love.
Those that are still trying to earn their salvation by being "extra-religious" might think that because they lead "holier than thou" lives, then others who are "more sinful" are going to hell. A blatant example is the person that holds up a sign that informs its readers that they are going to hell. That person might even be well-intentioned and say that their sign is to help other get into heaven, but I have yet to understand how a judgment sign like that would lead someone to finding God's freely given grace.
On the other hand, there are those followers of Jesus that have been transformed by God's love (I consider myself one of them!). These know how God loves them even as they continue to be selfish humans and therefore they have no place in judging others.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8
Personally, I remember how lost I was before God's love broke into my world. I am nothing more than a beggar transformed by God's grace. I still struggle with selfishness every day, but God has given me his unending love. As I continue to mess up and am no better than anyone else, how then can I judge others who in my opinion are messing up?
Before I allowed God's freely-given love into my life, I had no love to give others. It was only after I opened the doors to his love that his love started overflowing from my life into the lives of those around me. Thats when I started to truly love others instead of judging them. Even the people that had judged me! (judging a judg-er does not make it acceptable).
Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: LOVE the Lord your God with everything you got and LOVE your neighbor as yourself. ALL the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. - Matthew 22:36-40
(NOTICE JESUS DID NOT SAY TO "JUDGE YOUR NEIGHBOR", OR "LOVE ONLY THOSE NEIGHBORS YOU GO TO CHURCH WITH"!)
In another story, the bible talks about a prostitute who was caught in the act and the leaders of the church had judged her and were getting ready to stone her, but Jesus stepped in and spoke: "let the man who has no sin throw the first stone." What's crazy is that Jesus was the only one who could have actually judged her given that he himself was without sin, but instead he shows her his grace and love. If this is the example that Jesus leaves with us, then who are we to even think of judging or condemning someone else to hell?
[Sidetrack: You might ask, well then don't you believe in hell? Doesn't the bible speak about a hell where "bad people" end up? I'll tell you that I believe that the issue of hell and heaven is a personal decision that happens on a daily basis. Personally I remember what hell was like when I would beg people everyday for their approval and affirmation. "Tell me that I am cool enough, that I am worth it, pleeeeeeeease!" My life was centered around me, me, me. That is hell and I was choosing it daily for myself. My life changed to heaven when I accepted God's free love and grace and mercy and stopped looking to other people for self-worth and value. Heaven is deciding each day to live a life centered around God's love (if we want to, we can even continue to enjoy his love for all eternity even after we die, heaven forever).]
Back to not being a hater... In the case of someone of different beliefs or that seems to live their life in selfish ways, I may disagree with them (and it's ok to disagree) but it is still so important to love and accept them. By loving someone with the same love God has given us, I allow God's love another chance to impact them on the inside as he sees fit, the rest is between them and God. In retrospect, I can say I personally was never positively affected by a hater, but on the other hand, God's love changed my life for real.
At the end of the short conversation with my coworker about religion, I told him that my personal relationship with God helped me judge people less and love them more. I am so grateful that this life is not about "earning" God's love and that I can stay clear of the "holier than thou" competition. If life were about karma or good works I would most definitely be screwed (we all would).
Our job is not to judge each other, but to love each other! As only God's love could change my life, only his unstoppable love is able to transform this world we live in.
PS. I wont pretend that I am anywhere close to perfect, either. There are plenty of times daily when I find myself subconsciously judging people. "God please help us see others through the lens of your love instead of the judging lens of self-righteousness."
