'Judgmental' joins 'racist' as insult meant to silence

"Judgmental" has joined "racist" as the ultimate attempt to silence people with differing perspectives. No one wants to be called either, of course, which is exactly what fuels the label-throwers to throw that insult around all willy-nilly.

It doesn't work on me. Why? Because I'm hip to the trick, and I refuse to be silenced. Now, I will choose at times to keep my mouth and keyboard shut if I feel it's not time to speak, but that decision is not based on pressure from others who want to convince me that taking a stand for what is right is judgmental.

Those who have conversed with me, have read my writing and especially those who know me are aware that I am a Christian. As such, I believe in the authority of God's Word. That authority rests in every area of my life. My faith is not a category of categories. There's no "This is my faith over here, my politics over here and my work life over there." I have never left God in the car when I walked into my job no more than any wife ceases to be a wife when she walks into the grocery store. I am a child of God wherever I go. It's who I am, not some off-again-on-again gig. It's my identity, and it ought to guide and govern everything. If it doesn't, I've relegated it to just another of the many things that come and go in my life. That's not Christianity; that's a hobby -- and who needs another one of those?

So when it comes to politics, I'm always left shaking my head when people excuse voting for candidates who contradict the faith they profess and who label those who stand on the principles of their faith as judgmental or self-righteous. Look, either we believe or we don't. Either our faith guides our lives or it doesn't. Either Jesus is Lord of all or He isn't Lord at all. The oft-used -- and incorrectly interpreted -- "separation of church and state" doesn't fly. Not only doesn't it mean what people use it as a weapon to mean; it has no place -- or shouldn't -- in how we approach our voting privilege. Everything we do is tied to what we value, and what we value should govern every area of our lives -- including how we vote. If it doesn't, we need to ask ourselves why. The Bible puts it this way in Titus 1:15-16, "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work."

Well, that's blunt. Don't get mad at me. I'm not the author of it. I just quoted it.

I'll point out the issue of protecting the unborn, as it is the most crucial, most obvious example. No accusation of being judgmental will force me to back down. The Bible is clear: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you," Jeremiah 1:5 says. God hates "hands that shed innocent blood," according to Proverbs 6:17b. It's not about my opinion. I have no opinion. When God speaks, the only thing I'm allowed as a Christian to say is "Yes, Sir!" Thinking I know better than God is futile and, frankly, asinine. We don't get to counsel God. "But abortion isn't on the ballot." I beg to differ. It's there -- pro or con -- next to the name of every candidate and party platform.

But just as people are good at calling others racist to get them to sit down and shut up, they holler "judgmental" at anyone bold enough to take a stand and call them out on the hypocrisy they call their "politics." But here's what people don't get: When God has already judged, I don't have to judge. I just have to agree. Speaking what God has said is not being judgmental; it's speaking what God has said. I am certainly not perfect, but as a Christian, my desire is to speak and act in a spirit of love, which is the heart of God. God is in the business of healing, forgiving and restoring. But He's not in the business of denying. What's true is true, and whether we're talking about life, religious liberty, standing by Israel or any other number of issues that should be sacred to Christians, I'm going to agree with what God has said, as should everyone who professes Christ -- and my vote should align with that -- as should everyone's who professes Christ. And to those who talk about a candidate's rough exterior, let me be clear: I'm not willing to sell out principles just because I don't like his or her personality. Consider what's at stake. It's an easy decision when guided by the One Who sets the rules.

Here's the bottom line: I will not be silenced with the "judgmental" insult, and I will place my support behind those who stand for what my faith makes clear because it's not about me, and many issues are not really about what we call "politics," either. This is about what's right, and only God gets to decide that. So I don't judge. I just agree.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member.