Rushing To Judgement

As seen in the  "The Heartbeat" and published in the Hot Springs Village Voice

Rushing to Judgement

            Statistics show we live in a country which is considered overweight, and some studies use the word “obese.”  I am extremely confused by these studies considering the amount of exercise we get.  All we need to do is listen to other people talk, especially if they’re being interviewed on television, to see them casting dispersion, jumping to conclusions, throwing their weight around, lifting their voices, swimming in a sea of despair, or rushing to judgement!

            Of course, all of this is having fun with a little wordplay.  But if you think about it, all of these “exercises” are all too sadly true.  Find a tragedy, where people have witnessed the event and there is always someone trying to get in front of the camera to explain, in detail, how the entire ordeal occurred.

            Tragedies have been around in written and acting form since the days of the ancient Greeks with plays like the Iliad, the Odyssey, and Othello.  These and other classics pull on the heart strings and causes a wellspring of sad emotions to surface, and dare I say anger.

            In our society today, we have seen a great deal of emotional anger being displayed on our streets.  Sadly, this same behavior has entered politics.  Now, before you rush to judgement about this article, I am referring back to the 1950’s during the time of the McCarthy hearings.  People were being called before a federal commission and accused of colluding with the enemy without so much of an iota of evidence, only the word of an accuser.

            Fear and anger drive this phenomenon.  The Pharisees had a good thing going with the nation of Israel under their control.  Not only were they the supposed experts in the law, but they also continued to add laws onto the people to make it impossible to live completely free.  The Sadducees played just enough of the political game with Rome to keep a large presence of Roman officials out of the territory.  Then along comes Jesus.

            From the time He was born until His crucifixion, people were rushing to judgement.  Herod had male children slaughtered because Jesus was called the King of the Jews – a title he held from Rome.  But in his rush, He failed to see Jesus could have given him so much more than he could earthly imagine.

            The Pharisees felt their position of power was threatened by Jesus.  They failed to see the big picture.  When Jesus healed the man who had been blind from birth, they scoffed and yelled, “He healed on the Sabbath!  Blasphemy!”

            We all have a tendency to rush a little to judgement, whether it’s a good or bad decision, before we have all the facts.  Jesus had all the facts most certainly, but instead of debating He simply stated the law, the prophets, and the new covenant to come.

            A pause for effect is a speaker’s tool.  A pause to reflect and collect is a Christian’s tool.  By doing so, we can allow the Holy Spirit to guide our thinking as we pray our own feelings aside and let the mind of Christ be in us.