The Sin of Rash Judgment

A few years ago, I told my husband about a young woman I saw in the ladies’ room in the building where I once worked and how she meticulously applied makeup on her face in an attempt to cover a birthmark. I had thought to myself that maybe there was some vanity on her part in trying to cover that mark. I wondered if it would make her prettier.

When I later mentioned it to my husband, he gently admonished me for my observation. He believed that the woman most likely had a need which I would probably not understand – and that need was solely her business. It immediately dawned on me that I had passed judgment on her without thinking I could very well be in her shoes. It reflected a holier-than-thou attitude on my part.

We Rash Judge All the Time

But let’s not kid ourselves – we rash judge people all the time. We judge them by their actions, how they speak, the way they dress, how they carry themselves, and sometimes even on their personal hygiene. If somebody cuts into our lane in a heavy traffic jam, we scream rash words. If we see an officemate wearing something that has seen better days, we whisper to a colleague that “she needs a makeover.” We see a neighbor spending time with an old boyfriend who is jobless, and we say to ourselves, “How pathetic!” or “What could she be thinking?”

The problem is that we immediately think we know people’s motives for the things they do, especially if we perceive their actions as negative or wrong. We rarely give people the benefit of the doubt. We judge their intentions – which we can’t know – and lose hope that they may eventually change for the better.

Sin Least Frequently Confessed

Rash judgment, as defined by Fr. John Hampsch, CMF, on the webpage of the Claretian ministry, is unfounded and negative “labeling” of people. He says it’s the sin most frequently committed and least frequently confessed. He has a point.

St. Thomas Aquinas defines rash judgment more succinctly in his Summa Theologica: “When the human intellect lacks certainty, as when a person, without any solid motive, forms a negative judgment on some doubtful or hidden matter, it is called judgment by suspicion or rash judgment.”

Counteract the Tendency

In light of this common human tendency, here are five ways we can all stop rash judging one another:

First, let’s be careful with our thoughts.

I’d call it monitoring what crosses our mind and paying more attention to our tendency to “push” people in a positive direction. We must all be careful of interpreting our neighbors’ words and actions before we gather all the facts, especially in a media culture which encourages hasty judgments. And even if we have done some real fact-finding, let’s give our neighbor or friend the benefit of the doubt.

Second, let’s always look for the positive.

In the example I cited earlier, I could have very well looked at the young woman as someone who felt good and confident about herself despite her facial birthmark or perhaps as someone who would not easily despair. There is always another way to perceive any given scenario.

Third, let’s mind our own business.

It is wise not to poke our nose into other people’s lives — what they’re wearing or eating, how they spend their free time, or why they’ve chosen this or that job. We can’t know what motivates them to make those decisions.

Fourth, let’s put ourselves in other people’s shoes.

We cannot argue with the Golden Rule that tells us to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We all want to be treated kindly, so it behooves us also to treat people with kindness, regardless of their status in life.

Fifth and finally, let’s get off our high horse.

Someone once said that judging people is an act of “monumental pride” because we look to our own store of knowledge, put together a few facts, and come up with some sort of answer or solution to a problem or situation that conveniently fits our worldview.

Humility: the Antidote

Fr. John Hardon, an American Jesuit priest, writer and theologian, said that on account of our weakness and lack of patience to discern the whole truth, the “necessary antidote [to rash judgment] is humility and a quick appreciation that we may never have all the facts in certain cases.” We may not or cannot really know the reason why people make certain life decisions or act the way they do – we can see their actions, but we can never know what’s in their hearts.

Such was the case of Mary Magdalene, a favored disciple of Christ, who was judged rashly – and brutally – by the legalistic scribes and Pharisees. As the Gospel of John tells us, they caught her in the act of adultery and dragged her before Jesus. They intended to stone her, but Christ said:

“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.” (John 8:7.10-11)

We all know how the story ended: they all dropped their stones and left, one by one, with their limp tails between their legs.

It doesn’t mean, of course, that walking away with our tails between our legs will cure our penchant for rash judging. Just making a fool of ourselves is not always enough to correct a deeply-rooted habit. For that we need a firm purpose of amendment. But that’s the subject of another article.