Almost everyone has heard of the Bible injunction to “judge not that ye may not be judged.” Yet we often judge people. Some of us work as judges. Others of us serve as jurors in trials.

I often ask a friend what sentence she would give a person who is in the news for being found guilty of a specific crime. You could call me Maximum John for the long sentences I would give, but sometimes I am lenient.

Most of us judge others as part of our everyday life. We judge others for various perceived moral infractions.

Does someone pass us on a road as if we were standing still? That driver is a menace to society!

Does a male celebrity have a girlfriend who is decades younger? Tsk, tsk.

Did your neighbour come home drunk and pass out on his front lawn? Shame!

In the U.S., crowds attending Donald Trump’s rallies sometimes shout “Lock her up!”‘ The exact woman to be locked up changes from time to time.

You may find me morally wanting because I once wrote about how belief in hell is on the wane in Australia.

Judging others negatively helps us feel superior. I surely must be a better person than him and her.

It is less enjoyable to judge someone morally superior to us. That is why we sometimes take delight to find that our heroes have flaws in at least one realm of life. That is also why news headlines focus on bad deeds more than good deeds.

Judging others often leads to gossiping about the others – enumerating their perceived misdeeds. Gossiping allows us to share the fun of judging. I seem to talk with somebody about Harvey Weinstein every day.

The main problem with judging others negatively is that the judged person may suffer due to our opinion. We may not lock people in prison for 10 years, but we can lock them in a web of social disapproval to such an extent that they give up trying to do what we consider the right thing. One other problem: The judged person is sometimes us!

When I train future counselors, I tell them that they are helpers, not judges. I encourage them to try to see life from the perspective of the client.

If we mostly leave the judging to the men and women in black robes, we may all benefit.

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash