Why does it always seem like far too many people judge so harshly those in the public spotlight when they make a mistake? Lately, that happened with Bill Maher when he used the “N” word during his show, and Kathy Griffin, when she posted a picture of the president’s bloody head on a plate on her Twitter account.
While I may agree that both of their actions were not in their best interest and definitely not even remotely close to being spiritual in nature, I don’t agree that they should have received the critical lashing they did, especially after they apologized.
This is where I connect most with Jesus’s words, as multiple times he made it abundantly clear how we’re never supposed to judge anyone. In one case, he told a bunch of people who were about to stone an adulterer to cast the first stone if they were without sin. And in another case, he asked a crowd why they look at the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye when they haven’t addressed the plank in their own eye.
In either case, it was pretty clear that he was saying to never judge, yet so many of us continue to do so, day in and day out, each time we see someone else making a mistake that we ourselves might be just as guilty of as some point in our life, and maybe even still in the present as well.
I’ll be the first to be honest here by admitting that I was once guilty of regularly using the “N” word back when I was dealing and doing drugs. And I’m also just as guilty of formerly regularly sharing highly charged negative propaganda-based pictures on social media too. Both actions came out of me having a very distant relationship with God during those periods of my life.
These days though, I never use the “N” word nor do I ever place any highly-opinionated negative propaganda on my social media either. Either action just doesn’t factor into my spiritual calling with my Higher Power, yet in light of me saying that, it still doesn’t give me free reign to judge others who may still be doing so themselves.
The fact that both Maher and Griffin apologized for their hasty actions should be enough for people to forgive them and let it go, yet unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be happening. Many seem to be so fervently angry at them, that they want greater retribution, which I find to be truly sad.
Look, if all of our flaws and imperfections were suddenly 100% exposed for the entire planet to see, I don’t think any of us would remain spotless. In fact, I’m sure plenty of us would have a number of things we’d be sorry for that we probably once judged others for having those very same spots.
So maybe we might try to remember this the next time we find ourselves judging and condemning anyone who’s made a mistake, whether they’re in the public spotlight or not? And how about forgiving them instead and focusing on owning our own mistakes? As doing so will greatly improve our spiritual condition and draw us much closer to that which I believe Christ would want for each of us…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
