Make a Difference: Get Off Your High Horse

I should begin this post by noting that this is not a Christian blog but, if you haven’t figured it out yet, it is a blog written by a Christian. I want my blog to be interesting and useful to anyone of any religious belief, or no belief at all. But, because it is central to my life, my own faith will sometimes come through in my posts. That is certainly the case with this one.

One very important way we can make a difference is by refraining from being judgmental. The problem is, it’s sometimes hard to know when we are being judgmental and when we are distinguishing between right and wrong. I believe there’s a difference.

Refraining from judgmentalism doesn’t mean accepting everything another person does without judgment. The female protagonist in The Bridges of Madison County may have asserted “If you love me, then you must love what I have done,” but that way leads to moral chaos. Love of others does not mean approval of all of their actions. I doubt any of my readers truly believe that, though. If you want to make a difference, you must believe that not all is right with the world. And while events like natural disasters can affect the well-being of others, you probably believe that at least some of the things that trouble you — things like slavery, pollution, poverty, or domestic abuse — are brought about in part or entirely by choices made by people.

As a Christian, I believe the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18 describes judgmentalism well. In a moment of prayer, the Pharisee thanks God that he is “not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector.” He also uses the moment to remind God of all the great things he has done. The tax collector, meanwhile, approaches God humbly, comparing himself to no one and asking God for mercy, because he knows he has done wrong.

A judgmental attitude has everything to do with how you compare yourself to others. While there is still room for distinguishing between right and wrong, people who refrain from being judgmental acknowledge that they are capable of error, that they are not God. Judgmentalism is all about being superior to others.

This can happen not only in areas related to moral issues but even to things like good taste — and perhaps a judgmental attitude is even more damning in this area, if only because the stakes are relatively low, and good taste is hard to define. I do believe that there is such a thing as good and bad art. But if I snigger at someone’s Precious Moments collection, I’m telling myself that I am better than that person, because I have better taste.

The problem is, even if you believe, as I do, that there is good and bad art, taste is subjective. And sometimes, we’re just in the mood for a little junk. Comedian Jim Gaffigan sums it up well in his McDonald’s skit (note: There’s a little swearing in this clip):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YDTfEhChgw

Getting off your high horse doesn’t mean giving up all concepts like right and wrong or artistry. It does mean placing yourself in a position of humility. If you come at a person with an air of superiority, all you’re going to do is alienate them. But if you come to that person as an equal who disagrees with them on a certain point, you can actually engage in a dialogue.

And if your point of disagreement is how your neighbors decorate their lawn for Christmas, just let it go. After all, you secretly read trashy fanfiction. As Jim Gaffigan says, “It’s all McDonald’s.”