One of the many reasons that I fell away from the Church was because I was being too judgmental... and was also seeing too much judgment as well.
In a time, as a young person (13-14) I needed the help of the pastor and youth pastor to get out of an abusive environment. Now granted the danger was not life threatening or anything like that, but it was serious enough that it severly affect my life. I asked them for help, while at the same time fearing the wrath of my parents for 'telling.' I guess you could say that I wasn't very cooperative in helping them to help me....but I still judge what they did, really what they didn't do. It was/is a great injustice to me. I feel that they had a moral and legal obligation to report the situation and they did not.
In the years following this I was subjected to things that young people shouldn't have to deal with. Situations where at 15 and 16 my parents allowed to happen that put me in danger of rape. Serious danger - I was locked in a room with a near naked man (a relative) and forced to drink alcohol. His intentions were definitely to rape me. By the Grace of God I was not physically harmed but I was/am emotionally scarred. It was around this time that I fell way because I felt abandoned. I went on a year or two later to date a man who was 10yrs my senior (17 and 27) - and my parents were also accepting of this.
I'm not sure that I've yet been able to forgive these people - my parents for refusing to see the abuse, the abuser - for the obvious, and the pastors who could have helped prevent the latter sitations.
I know that Jesus said, “ Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay not attention of the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time tere isa plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-5
How do/should accountablility, judgment, and forgiveness play in this in my life?
How do I get beyond this past hurt to see the value of the Church? How do I stop judging those in the church who might do something that doesn't follow the doctine of the Church? Something as small as studying another version of the Bible beyond the Church accepted "only KJV" - this inclued me!
How to I get beyond judgment into forgiveness?
What is your perspective? How do you feel about judging others/being judged? Do you try not to judge others? How do you judge yourself?
(After rereading this it seems very convoluted, but I hope there's some sense in it and that someone of you can help me.)
Just a reminder about my desired format:
First, I want to let everyone know that this is not a debate. Anyone who argues with another poster will find their post deleted.
I'm posting this question in an effort to learn. As such, your answer with supporting explanation/evidence would be most helpful to me. References to documents and/or the Bible would be helpful along with citations (this will give me more sources to explore).
If your answer is simply what you believe, please feel free to state that too.
But please, please, please, no arguments. If there are I may be compelled to delete the entire article thereby losing any learning value that it might have for me.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you!