Are Christians Judgmental?

Why do some Christians seem so judgmental? Earl McClellan addresses this perception and explores who Jesus really is.

Questions for Discussion and Personal Reflection

  1. Why do we seem so often to try to identify ways we're better than other groups of people (whether through religion, ethnicity, nationality, or club affiliation)?
  2. Can you recall a time when you thought you were better than someone else? How did that affect your behavior toward that person?

In my own journey, I have had the, you know, the chance to really grow and hopefully mature. Ask my wife if I'm maturing or not, but, uh, but there's been some times - and I'm, I'm really sad about this - that I actually looked at people like I was a little bit better than them. Now, I've been pretty fun-loving and, uh joyful I guess since I was a, since I was a kid - that's what my mom tells me - but, uh as I continue to learn more about Jesus and you start to think "oh, I'm figuring this thing out," somehow, someway it crept in like, "Earl, since, since you know this information, you're kind of a part of an elite class." And honestly, I'm sad to even say that. I, I'm sad for any friends in high school or college that I may have, I may have put off that air to any of them because I'm, I'm praying that, that my ignorance, okay, my pride did not paint a bad picture about who I think Jesus really is. And if I could go back to any of those friends, I, I would, I would apologize. I would, I would honestly get on my hands and knees and tell them that I am, I'm no, I'm no better than any of them. I'm, I'm a human being that is, has discovered God loves him and is trying to make sense of all of that, and I still am broken, and still am wounded in so many ways, and still have made mistakes, uh, and gone down different roads, whether it was partying or pornography or whatever it was and, and I like to sit here and say since I've, I found Jesus or Jesus found me when I was seven, my life has just been picture perfect but it hasn't. It's been, it's been rocky and there's been ups and downs and I foolishly...man, um, started to think that I had it all together. So, so I wish, I wish I could, I wish I could say "sorry" to all of them. I wish I could, wish I could give them a hug and and just have a conversation and just talk about who, who I think Jesus really is, and even me with my pride and my judgment, Jesus still, still loves me. So whatever they might be walking through our whatever they were going through, he still loves them and let's, let's just talk, let's just talk about that and what that means and maybe how I've hurt them or how others have hurt them and just see if we can, uh, we can start with a clean slate. That could be good for all of us.