You often hear, "Don't JUDGE me!" and we think that, "Oh. I don't like to judge others," but in the words of Inigo Montoya, "You keep using that word. I don't think it means, what you think it means."
Here is a devotional I had to present to a group of my peers about Judgement vs Conviction. Do enjoy!
Judgment vs. Conviction
Eric Riskus
READ: Matthew 7:1-5
As a leader and placed in authority, we often have to face everyday the moment and time to deal with someone else’s issues. It’s part of being in a ministry position.
There is a fine line between Judgment and Conviction.
Judgment is defined as the forming of an opinion, estimate, notion, or conclusion, as from the circumstances presented to the mind.
Whereas conviction is defined as proving or declaring guilty of an offense, especially after a legal trial; or to impress with a sense of guilt.
Judgment done improperly leads to gossip.
My favorite character throughout any video game series or cartoon was always Bowser from “Super Mario Brothers.” In fact, he’s one of the tattoos I plan on getting. Here is what I learned from Bowser.
1) He’s the bad guy
2) He keeps kidnapping the princess
3) He tries constantly to get rid of Mario
Now, everyone’s first thought when playing a game is, “Let’s defeat this guy,” but I never saw it the same way. My thought process was,
“Why is he evil? Why does he keep kidnapping the princess in each and every game, and why is he trying to get rid of Mario?”
Then a game came out that completely gave me the paradigm shift I was looking for. Super Mario Sunshine. (Bear with me.)
In this game, every question I had was answered.
1) He’s evil because that’s what his upbringing was, and didn’t know better.
2) He wants to find a mother figure for his boy, and is doing so the only way he knows how.
3) This guy keeps on beating him up for it.
Now, I list all that to say, how often as leaders to we take a minute to figure out someone’s story? We see some gruff dude waltz into church, throwing his cigarette outside, smelling like booze, and swearing in casual conversation. What is our first instinct?
We need to learn as leaders how to balance conviction and judgment.
Especially for those young in ministry, it can become muddled or difficult to find the difference between the two, especially if you are a person who is non-confrontational. Sometimes there is a thought process of
“I don’t want to step on someone’s toes” or “I don’t want them to think that I’m judging them.”
Or maybe immediately we skip conviction and go straight to, “You can’t do that here, can you please step to the side?” or we let someone else do that to them.
READ Acts 5:1-10
We need to understand our attitude before we approach someone. What should we say? Personally, I look for why the conviction is there. Is he repeatedly disturbing anyone else within reason? Is there an opportunity for growth present for the individual? Am I cranky and just looking for confrontation? Do I want the approval of others?
Why do we convict? To bring forth any guilty action brought on by the individual.
As leaders, we are put in a seat of power to convict those around us, but a leader can be more that someone on staff, or a volunteer in the church. A leader could be one of two friends looking to stand up for what is right, vs. what is easy.
To wrap things up, let’s understand 2 things.
1) Passing judgment is the initial bias we get from our own mental assessment of what we see.
2) Conviction is bringing forth any issue, guilt, or transgression that needs to be dealt with, regardless of who, or what the situation is.
READ: PROVERBS 24:23-26
As a leader we need to have a healthy balance of both. It’s in human nature to judge, and as leaders we need to develop that sixth sense and not become naïve to judge, but to make sure that our judgment is just and if we are going to judge, we had better be ready to convict as well. For you can’t have one without the other.
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