Jason's Devotions

Hi Jason.

I have reflected about this in the past, I need to say I am an atheist but my reflection doesn't really base upon that.

I feel like we are predisposed to prejudice due to survival instincts. Think about it and I will put an example: You are walking on the street at night, not that many people around. You see two guys some steps in front of you standing there, watching you. My first reaction would be to judge them as potential threats  even when I have no actual evidence they are dangerous. I think this reasoning is more subconscious than conscious. Mathematically it is more likely for those two unknown guys  to be a threat than a third age woman you found on the street. I hope my words are not misinterpreted. I personally think stereotypes suck but the judging problem really is something deeper than just an emotion or thought. Of course, one can judge a person but that doesn't mean you need to materialize that judgement towards said person and insult him/her like that.

 

Animals show this behavior. For example if you walk towards a group of birds they will label you as a threat and fly away even when you are not trying any harmful action. It is just survival.

We as humans and conscious beings, have the ability to overcome instincts. So as you said, we can choose to reduce or eliminate this instinct. I just don't know if eliminating it completely would be the best thing to do.

Edited August 12, 2016 by CliveBarker

Thanks, Clive. We are definitely predisposed to judgement, but I choose to take an approach that disagrees heavily with the majority of the world on this matter. If I were to be truly judged for my past, I would not survive; I've made mistakes that would condemn me to prison or worse. I choose to do my absolute best to replace all judgement in my life with love, rather than to play a hypocrite and judge people for things when I've probably done worse.

I appreciate the discussion, though. We are likely to have some very different viewpoints because I base my ideologies on the teachings of Christ rather than the teachings of the world.

I actually try to adopt an approach in real life more like yours Jason. I have a lot of empathy ( maybe a bit too much for my tastes) and I always try to comprehend other people rather than just discriminate it. I just cannot evade some sort of judgement. Some years ago I lived in a rural town filled with drug-lords and assassins and very sick people. I lived there for 5 years and maybe I became traumatized by all the horrors I saw. So I tend to  automatically analyze my environment looking for possible threats (prejudice).

Sure, I can understand that. There is certainly a difference between looking out for safety (trying to predict if someone is going to be a problem) and judging people. It's definitely possible for us to love someone while at the same time doing our best to assess whether they're dangerous and protecting ourselves. Knowing you, Clive, I've definitely seen your character as one of empathy and love; I don't think I've ever seen you judge anyone before.

Yeah I was talking more about that type of judgement (more like danger prevention as you said). I do not like to judge someone just by race, or anything like that. I am actually sad by all the things that happens in your country as I have two Muslim friends living in the USA and I know they get bullied a lot because of people judging them. If you were referring to that type of judgement in your main post I 100% agree with you. Thanks for your kind words and don't let your past define your future actions and thoughts.

Yeah, there's a lot of sad things going on in the US lately (not to hate on the US, sad things happen everywhere). Agreed.

Hey Jason,

Nicely put, it is always to have a good reminder not to judge others and especially when we judge brothers in Christ because a lot of times, we see someone's else's sin but not the blatant obvious one that we partake in.

 

Elliot 

Agreed, my friend, it's easy to do. Thanks for the note.

So this is my first time reading this and I'm sorry for the late comment. I am going through some health problems in my life and I have been judged for deciding not to go through more treatment because I choose not to be sicker from the treatment itself. Without going into too much detail, people live in their own bubble and believe their way is the only way and try and shape others into what they expect. The judgement we as humans place on others is ingrained in our DNA unfortunately and no religion or sense of what is right or wrong is going to change that. I agree with your decision to not judge people Jason, you are one of the few who has made a conscious decision to stop doing that, unfortunately there are too many people in the world that have no belief in a higher power and therefore people like myself going through some hard choices are the ones who have to deal with negative judgement.  I can honestly say when you are in a bad place in your life you find out who cares for you and who pretends to care for you because of what you can do for them. I respect and thank you for your choice not to judge, more people need to follow your lead.

Thanks Temp. My heart goes out to you for being in that situation. We similarly refuse lots of traditional health practices because of the side effects (and we recognize the corruption of the health system in the US). I'm sure I can't fully understand what you're going through, but I can relate. Hit me up if you ever need to talk. Hang in there.

Thanks Jason, that means a lot