MennoMovieNerd: Judgement and The Hunt

Last week, I had a friend of mine tell me that I lived a double-standard.  That wouldn't have been so bad by itself, but she based it on a statement that she remembered me making that I had never made, nor implied. And no matter how much I clarified my point of view, it did not change her judgment of me.

I was watching a fantastic episode of the West Wing ("Isaac and Ishmael") in which an Arab American was accused of being a terrorist, and every time that he was previously falsely accused of this before was being brought up against him as proof of his guilt in this circumstance.

It is a commonplace that we live in a world of pain and that the hardest story must be the truest one.  "You may not like it, but it's true."  But in reality, this assumption that the most difficult must be true leads us to false judgments.  The Passion of the Christ is brutal... in reality TOO brutal.  Historically, it is inaccurate because there are too many beatings and too much blood.

When we take this point of view to our lives, we find that we think the worst about people because it is the "harsh reality" we believe in, not because there is any real evidence of the fact.

The Hunt is a Danish film that shows us the experience of a man in a small community when he is falsely accused of sexually molesting a close friend's child.  This is a difficult movie, because the reactions of the community seem so idiotic and unnecessarily judgmental of a man whom they have lived with and loved for decades.  But when we see it, we recognize that it is true.  People really are that idiotic, because they often assume the worst.

The Hunt gives us the harsh reality that reality is more harsh when we assume the worst.  The worst criminal activity happens when people assume someone is a criminal, with or without evidence.  Our fears create more harm against the innocent than they protect the innocent.

The Hunt deals with judgmentalism and forgiveness by just telling the story of an individual that applies to everyday situations, much as the Dardenne brothers do.  Each performance is remarkable in the everyday quality of the reactions, despite the unique circumstances. By the end of the film, I was telling characters what to do or not do at the top of my voice.  I apologize to my wife.  She told me that I shouldn't watch it.

Despite my wife's objections, I highly recommend the film to those who prefer their morality dramas to be fully human and complex.

Thanks to Jessica for turning me onto this film.

Three Paths: Judgement, Mercy and Cheap Grace

• Judgment is immediate.
It demands the quick decision and the sentence is as swift and demanding as a guillotine.
• Mercy is slow.
Mercy takes its time, deliberating, mulling over options. Mercy is often second-guessing itself, repenting of former decisions as repentance is made known.
• Cheap Grace is careless.
It cares not what the issues are, and is as swift in its decision of forgiveness as judgment is of condemnation.

• Judgment is simple.
Black and white, clear cut, no recourse, no compromise. Judgment sees all situations from a demanding, no fills position.
• Mercy seeks truth—no matter how messy.
It deliberates, considers, ponders, discusses—but not without a goal. Mercy plods, the tortoise who wins the race, slow and steady. Mercy understands that truth cannot be found in a headline, but in a feature article based on many interviews.
• Cheap Grace triumphs the ignorant.
There is no need for determinations, deliberations or decisions. The decision has already been made—freedom and blessing for all, no matter what the situation.

• Judgment focuses on the law as a principle.
“The law is a standard which once broken cannot be mended. It is the Humpty Dumpty of God. It is an ancient china doll, needing to be placed behind glass—protected, served, and loved from a distance.” But the law of judgment is cold, hard and sharp as a steel blade. Judgment claims to be for the good of society, but the only one who benefits is Judgment itself.
• Mercy loves the law as a benefit to others.
The law is to “love your neighbor,” thus mercy is the heart of the law. The law is to train us in mercy, to see the Other as the beneficiary of all of our actions. Mercy considers the well-being of all—even the law-breaker. Mercy’s law is comforting, light, for it always seeks the benefit of all.
• Cheap Grace discards the law.
“The law was a plaything of youth, but is to be set aside as unworthy of consideration. Grace has set aside all law, especially the law of Jesus, as unworthy of God.” Cheap Grace claims to speak for Mercy, but denies the heart of God.

• Judgment demands recompense.
Judgment seeks equity to the cost of the action of the law-breaker. “You broke it, you pay for it.” It seeks a balanced account book for which each debit has its equal and opposite credit—the coin of which is blood and dishonor.
• Mercy pursues reconciliation.
Mercy can lead to dishonor, should repentance be the flip side of that coin. Mercy pleads for restoration, constantly seeking an ingathering together for all the saints.
• Cheap Grace rejects cost.
Cheap Grace points to Calvary and claims that all had been accomplished there. Cheap Grace ignores the man who said, “All who would follow me must take up their own cross daily.” Cheap Grace demands no personal cost, no change, no death, no discipline, and so gains no gift, no new creation, no life, no restoration.

• Judgment has no escape.
Once judged, there is no exit. The sentence is irrevocable, the differences irreconcilable, the community ununitable.
• Mercy offers an out—repentance.
The one who has harmed another—and so has defied the law—has an opportunity to be brought back under the law. To repent, to reconcile is the extent that Mercy demands, and will seek any way to achieve that goal.
• Cheap Grace is unconditional forgiveness.
It is spiritual bloodletting—seeking to heal the patient, while ignorantly killing him. Cheap Grace sees no need to gather in, to restore, for there was no separation.

• Judgment demands payment from the lawbreaker.
As the law suffered, so must the criminal. As society was harmed, so must the harmer. Judgment claims the lost deserve nothing, and so gives nothing.
• Mercy sacrifices.
Restoration also has a price, and the merciful takes that price on oneself. Mercy pays whatever the cost so the sinner can be restored. Mercy groans in prayer, endures attacks, forgives debts against it, pays debts against others, sacrifices its comfort, its family, its friendships, its resources, its very life—all for the sake of the lost.
• Cheap Grace gleefully ignores cost.
It is the thief, stealing from God’s honor. Cheap Grace receives no payment, demands nothing, gives nothing, since there is no debt incurred. Cheap Grace celebrates at the foot of grace delivered, but ignores the call of grace transferred to others. Cheap Grace requires nothing and so gains nothing.

• Judgment never forgets.
It is the elephant of virtues. It never trusts, never believes, never forgives, never restores. Judgment says “Once a sinner, always a sinner.”
• Mercy gives the benefit of the doubt.
Mercy does not forget, but allows complete restoration, a rebuilding of trust. Mercy believes in new creation, a new life, which has nothing to do with the old.
• Cheap Grace always trusts, even the hypocrite.
It always believes, even the liar. It always forgives, even the unrepentant. It accepts everyone and everything—except God’s truth.

• Judgment is Satan.
Judgment is the accuser of the brethren, the murderer of humanity for the sake of a bloodless law. It is the prosecutor seeking the death penalty.
• Mercy is Jesus.
It is the self-sacrificer, the reconciler to God, the perfect sacrifice. Mercy is the one who said, “Go and sin no more,” “The one whom the Son sets free is free indeed,” “I have come to seek and save the lost,” “Unless you repent you will likewise perish,” “I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance,” “Be merciful as your Father is merciful.”
• Cheap Grace is the Flesh.
It is self-seeking, self-upholding, self-deceptive. Ultimately, it upholds what is abhorrent to God as the will of God. They practice sin and gives approval to those who practice it.

• Judgment is a liar.
It claims that God does not forgive, sees the sin and not the sinner. It denies the power of God to change the one in Jesus. It is lost, for it has forsaken the mercy of Jesus. Those in the power of Judgment will die by God’s hand—“Judge and you will be judged.”
• Cheap Grace is a liar.
It claims that God’s standard is flexible, and so non-existent. It loves the lost to such a degree that it cannot be separated from the lost. It causes the lost to remain lost, and so dead. Those in the power of Cheap Grace will die by God’s hand—“Whoever does not obey the Son will not see life.”
• Mercy is the truth of God.
It upholds the law, which is to love all. It demands love, even as it offers love. It demands forgiveness, even as it offers forgiveness. It demands sacrifice, even as it sacrifices. It demands purity, even as it offers purity. It demands devotion to God, even as it offers devotion to God. “Be imitators of God, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”

Mercy stands with God 

over against Judgment and Cheap Grace

Tough Grace

Whether Jesus was the meek and mild infant on that silent night, we will never know, but one thing is for sure, he wasn’t when he grew up.  Frankly, Jesus was a tough SOB, and he didn’t mince words:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

You have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering. 

You are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.

You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

How can you, being evil, speak what is good?

You fools and blind men!

Although Pharisees are mentioned early on, Jesus didn’t keep his insults only to the Pharisees.  He also insulted scribes, lawyers, elders and priests.   We know that he was actually insulting and not just using a hard form of speech, but was polite, because when he was lashing out on the scribes, a lawyer responded, “You know that when you say these things you insult us too?”  Jesus then started to say even more insulting things to the lawyers. 

We could gather together some rules about insulting people from Jesus’ usage:

• Jesus only spoke to people who were supposed to be speaking or living out God’s will
• Jesus spoke to their face, not behind their backs.
• Jesus’ insults were never general, but specific and he gave reasons for each word he used.

I am not writing this with the intent of us “insulting as Jesus did” although I figure that would be a pretty popular blog post. Rather, I want us to pay attention to who Jesus is insulting, and why he was doing this. 

Let’s face it.  Jesus was being judgmental.  He was condemning these people, declaring them to be unfit for the kingdom of God.  Actually, Jesus was saying something deeper than that: he was saying that these men were only fit for hell.   Which is amazing, actually.  Not only because Jesus told us not to judge, but he has some pretty tough things to say about judging.

Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

 In the way you judge, you will be judged.

Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

And Jesus says specifically it is not his purpose to judge:

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world

You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.

(But then Jesus gives himself a loophole:  But even if I do judge, My judgment is true... As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Jesus can judge because the Father gives him the judgments to give, and he knows the motivations of people’s hearts.)

Even so, Jesus speaks of forgiveness as the opposite of judgment, and, if anything, his words about forgiveness are even harsher than his words on judgment:

If you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.  My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.

Okay, that’s pretty harsh.

And that’s Jesus’ point.  The issue between judgment and forgiveness is very serious.  God is love and his grace and mercy is over all people.  And whoever is not on board with grace and forgiveness isn’t a part of him.  God’s judgment will ultimately be against those who judge.

So why does Jesus say harsh, judging things to people?  Isn’t he breaking his own rule?

This is where it is interesting.  Who are the people Jesus are judging?  What reasons does he give for these judging insults?

• He judges people who oppress the poor “You devour widows houses.”
• He judges people who condemn others
• He judges people who claim to be God’s spokesmen, but speak hatred and judgment
• He judges people who shut people out of heaven by having them think that they aren’t good enough

Yes, that’s right.  Jesus only judges people who judge.  He withholds forgiveness only from those who will not forgive.  Jesus is giving a taste of the final judgment, when all those who reject others from God’s presence will be rejected by God.

Jesus doesn’t condemn sinners, people who have broken Jesus’ law again and again.  He only condemns those who condemn. 

Jesus doesn’t insult those who led a life of weakness and sin.  He welcomes and encourages them.  He condemns those who, in God’s name, pushed people out of God’s house, pushed people out of God’s presence, and pushed people away from God’s salvation.

Why is the church not like this?  Because they are too busy being concerned to create a community, instead of inviting the unwanted back into God’s presence.  The church is trying too hard to create a perfect, quiet, encouraged, enthusiastic group of Christians instead of the church that Jesus wants: a church made up of those who the church doesn’t want.

Especially as church leaders, let’s remember this:

• When we first push someone out of our church because they are disruptive or aren’t the kind of person we want; 
• when we call the police on the homeless people who are sleeping on our property; 
• when we reject an ethnic church from using our facility because they don’t have enough money to pay our required rent;
•  the next time we condemn people as hellbound because they are attracted to the wrong sex or because they've done things we don't approve

… then Jesus is speaking to us: “Hypocrites, fools, brood of vipers.”

Judge With a Right Judgment

"Do not judge according to appearances, but judge with a right judgment" John 7:24

None of us want to be judged. We don’t want people to think that we are bad people, or to assume we have evil motivations. At the same time, we often judge others in the very way we do not want to be judged. We make assumptions of others and think badly of others, sometimes even if we do not have evidence for it. And every time we make a negative assumption about someone, we are placing ourselves over them as judge and jury—and we might even sentence them if we have the chance. Of course, Jesus has much to say about judging, but some of it may be surprising to us.

Jesus says that by whatever standard we judge, we will be judged by God. (Matthew 7:1-2)
We are all being judged by God, but unlike us, God is completely just. To be just to us, God will judge us not only by His standard, but by the standard that we think is right or wrong. If we live against the measure of right and wrong we use on others, then we are hypocrites. This means that whatever principles we use to judge other people, God will make us stand against as well. If we judge other’s because they interrupt or are sarcastic, then we will be judged if we interrupt or are sarcastic.

Jesus says that we should not judge by our own standard, but God’s. (Mark 7:6-8)
To prevent us from being judged unnecessarily, we should not think that another is evil, unless they break God’s standard, not our own, or even our society’s. A person might be rude or difficult to be around, but we cannot determine that they are a “bad person” unless they rebel against God’s standard. (To see what God’s standard is, read the post "A Complete List of NT Sins")

Jesus says to be aware of our own misconceptions. (John 5:39)
We think we know what is true and right all the time. But our minds are weak—sometimes we remember things that didn’t happen and sometimes we forget important things about another person. We don’t often understand why someone did something inconceivable to us, although we are often ready to put a negative spin on it. We need to recognize our weaknesses and double check what we think we know, especially if what a person said or did doesn’t make sense to us.

Jesus says to get our facts straight. (Matthew 18:15-16)
Rather than assume why a person did what they did, we need to talk to them and ask. We cannot assume that a person is a bad person or has done something evil unless we have seen it or heard it from their own lips. If we still have a problem with someone, we should bring someone who is objective before the Lord and ask them for their perspective. But we should never take action based on our own (mis)conceptions or assumptions.

Jesus says to accept people, even if they responded wrongly in the past. (Luke 17:3-4)
If someone says that they repent from their actions, we must accept them. If someone says that we are assuming wrong motivations for their actions, we must accept their statement, unless it is a clear lie. If someone has done us wrong in the past and it seems as if they are doing it again, but we have no clear evidence and they say they are not doing it, we must not assume they are lying. Paul says that to act in love is to “keep no record of wrongs.” We must be a people who accepts openly those who have repented—not those looking for a reason to blame or attack another.

Jesus says to not make assumptions about a person based on their group. (Matthew 8:11-12)
We must not determine what someone is like based on their race, the neighborhood they live in, their family or their social group. Every person is different, and we cannot paint a whole group as evil based on the actions of one or two. Rather, we have to determine who each person is by his or her own actions and words.

Jesus says to let mercy rule over judgement. (Matthew 12:7)
There is a time to determine that someone’s action is evil. But if there is no clear evidence for it, then we are to allow mercy to make a decision. We shouldn’t judge someone based on circumstantial evidence. Nor should we see a contradiction and assume that someone is lying—let us do the work of trying to find out how they are telling the truth. Making negative judgements of others is easy, a cop out. Having mercy on others’ is hard work, but it will help us receive mercy from God.

Jesus says that anyone can change with God’s power. (Luke 15)
Jesus says that we are never to determine who someone will be in eternity. We just don’t know. If Paul, one who hated Jesus and Jesus’ people changed to be one who allowed himself to die for others’, then anyone can change and become a person who lives in God. Instead of thinking evil against those who do evil to us, we should pray for them and ask God to give them grace to repent.

Jesus said all judgment is in God’s hands.(Matthew 12:36)
If someone seems to be doing something wrong, but we can’t prove it, we must recognize that all wrongs will be judged in the final day. We do not need to search and discover every wrong every person does, for it is in God’s hands. (I Timothy 5:24)

Judge not by our own ideas or assumptions, 

but on God’s word and the truth.