James, a little book of wisdom: who am I to judge?

Today’s wisdom:

Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgement on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbour?  James 4:11-12

My random musings:

In a legal setting, slander is a crime. It’s illegal to ‘make a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation’. And maybe James is talking into situations like that here – maybe where false accusations are being made about who is colluding with the Romans or who is actively taking part in violent resistance. In cases like these, slander would have been a matter of life and death.

For most of us, the slander we can get drawn into on a daily basis is not going to get us in trouble with the police. However, it is still damaging. It is still wrong. We would generally call this kind of talk ‘gossip’: spreading rumours, mocking someone, putting them down, talking about the rather than to them.

I heard Brene Brown talking recently about gossip. She tells how she gave gossip up for Lent – and then lost many of her friends, because she realised that all she had ever talked to them about was other people and now that was removed, they had nothing to talk about! Maybe we underestimate how much of our time we spend talking about other people in a negative way. Listening to the conversations around the pool on holiday was a real eye opener for my daughter, because it certainly seemed that people had nothing better to do that bitch about other people!

‘Who are they to judge?’ she asked.

Exactly. Who are they to judge? That’s what James is saying here too.

It is not our place to judge anyone. Only God knows the whole story and can see the bigger picture. Only God is in a position to judge. 

Imagine if we put all the energy we put into judging and dragging people down with our words into affirming them and building them up!

Of course, none of this means turning a blind eye to the mistreatment of others (and ourselves).

Yes, sometimes we have to speak up. Speak truth. And only that.

Sometimes we are called upon to bear witness. Speak truth. And only that.

Sometimes we need to confront someone with the consequences of their behaviour. Speak truth. And only that.

Sometimes we need to report someone’s behaviour for their own safety or the safety of those in their care. Speak truth. And only that.

Beyond that, say nothing (negative – feel free to say as much positive stuff as you want!)

My question for you:

In what ways do you need to change the way you talk about other people?