Judge Acts, Not Souls

"God himself is the judge"
"judge not, lest ye be judged"

How do we apply these principles when in fact every decision we make requires some level of judgement? We decide our level of friendship with another person based in part on how we judge that person to be. We develop prejudices as we grow. We trusted people in the past who let us down, so we do not trust them again. For example, I have been robbed twice in my life. Both times it was a black man who did it. I trusted them, and was robbed. So my "prejudice" is not to trust strange black guys with valuables. Still, some of the finest people I have known were black. I would have missed out if I hadn't trusted them, but they showed themselves to be trustworthy.

Every man (or woman) is a child of God, and as such deserves some level of respect due to that dignity. There is within all men the capacity to good and to do evil. When you are deciding on your relationships you have to judge whether it is prudent to trust the other. My advice is to look at past acts of the person (to the extent you can). Words can be deceiving. Look objectively at what they have done. A history of lying, stealing, or cheating implies that they are likely to select that behavior again. Those acts (or any break from the Commandments) are the real red flags. We must judge behavior, but not the people. Christians are told to "turn the other cheek", to forgive "70 times seven times". That does not mean we should ignore or accept sinful behavior. Don't wear jewelry or carry a lot of money into a place where poor people who have few role models live or hang out. I don't know how I may have grown up in an impoverished neighborhood where law breaking is common and no one knows their father. It is not up to me to judge those robbers' souls. But it is up to me whether or not I go into a ghetto wearing or carrying something valuable. Those children of God are not beyond salvation.

Examine your conscience. There is sin within all of us. Christ died to save sinners. Admitting our own sins is very hard to do, but it helps us. Keep striving to choose to do good, but don't trust thieves or liars. Help each other down the path, but don't be a "mark".