To Listen or to Judge? That is the Question!

Thursday night, I served as a moderator for a candidate forum that was held in my election district between candidates for Board of Supervisor and Board of Education. I've never done anything like this before and it was quite an opportunity. My students asked questions and kept the time, while I tried to organize the question/ answer session so that no one candidate received an advantage. During the evening, there were many times when I wanted to react to what the candidates were saying. I wanted to ask follow up questions or smile, nod, or encourage candidates who I felt were answering correctly. But I couldn't. That wasn't my job. I was the impartial one. I had to refrain from making ANY judgments and create a fair environment for all candidates to share their hearts and ideas with the audience of voters.

I thought about this non-judgmental attitude that I had to display at the candidate forum and I see important implications on my own life. I'm a VERY opinionated person. Ask my family! After MANY years of heated political debate around my mother's kitchen table, she doesn't even like to discuss politics or religion anymore in my presence because she knows that I'm going to speak my mind. But maybe there is a better way? I've found in the past three years since I've been back in teaching, that you can attract a lot more people to you if you are non-judgmental. If you can refrain from making quick judgments about people or ideas, but instead take a step back to LISTEN and think, many times you'll be taken more seriously.

I have a young lady in my class who has had difficulty with this so far this year. In our class debates, she tries to pound her intellectual opponents over the head with her opinion, assuming that anyone else who does not share this opinion to be completely insane. After a long talk with her about this, she's tried very hard to choose her words correctly and I've seen her classmates respond positively. She's "catching more flies with honey" instead of insulting those around her.

If we are ever going to be Christians that make an impact on our world, we have to learn to listen, be open-minded, and not judge. Though our doctrine will not change and our belief in Jesus' example displayed through His life and His Word will never change, our ministry methods and practices must. In this everchanging world, where the definition of right and wrong seems to switch daily, our ears must be open to listening to the differing viewpoints in our world and learning how to lovingly present the truth without judgment. Jesus did this. He told the truth; he lived the truth. Then people followed, not because he judged them into submission, but because they were convicted by simply being in His PRESENCE. He never judged, but he did listen. How much more do we need to do the same? How much more do we need to follow HIS example to reach our world?