Judgement in the Face of Evil

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been told that Christians shouldn’t judge. We should leave judgement to God because God is the only one truly qualified to do so. The stereotype of being overly judgemental is often something that Christians try to distance themselves from, wanting to be known for love instead. As the well-sung 1960’s worship song goes: “They will know we are Christians by our love.”

The sentiment of this song has good scriptural support. It’s based on John 13:35, where Jesus tells the disciples that “‘by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’” Although some Christians may believe that judging people is a way in which they show love, it’s hard to fully accept someone when your are also condemning them. And let’s not forget Jesus’s words on judgement from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:1-2):

“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.”

We may think that this settles it, that the case is closed, and that Christians need to love and not judge. Although this is true, it’s only half of the story. Let’s be honest - everybody judges. We are constantly making judgements about what is good and right for our lives. This is the case when it comes to the activities we engage in, the people we’re in community with, the societal structures we support, and the world-views we hold. 

“We can’t be on the side of the oppressed without judging the oppressor.”

Everyone is judgemental. If we weren’t, we would say that anything and everything goes and that nothing matters. No one truly believes this - and neither did Jesus. Throughout Scripture, God has always taken the side of the marginalized, poor, and oppressed. God’s people are called to do the same. But we can’t be on the side of the oppressed without judging the oppressor.

The question isn’t whether or not we should judge, but in what way and in what setting is judgement necessary. Without proper judgement, we become paralyzed when staring into the face of evil and fail to discern the truly loving response. At the same time, improper judgement can cause great harm to people we may be trying to help. So how do we know when and how to judge?

One good test is to ask, “Does your judgement look like Jesus?” Let’s use the example of John 8:1-11 where religious leaders bring a woman to Jesus who they claim was caught in the act of adultery. They tried to trap Jesus by telling Him that this woman should be stoned according to the law. But Jesus says to them “‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’” They all leave. Seeing that no one was there to condemn her, Jesus assures her that He will not either. Jesus sends her on her way, asking her to sin no more.

We might conclude from this story that Jesus doesn’t judge because he didn’t condemn this woman. This isn’t true. Jesus judged the mob of stone-carrying men and made them realize that what they were about to do was wrong. By standing with the woman, Jesus stood against these men. And by standing against these men, Jesus brought justice and new life to this woman.

I want to be clear that we have no right to pass final judgement on anyone. We have no right to take away anyone’s God-given dignity. Regardless of how different people are from us, the final call is up to God. But when we stand where Jesus stands - with the oppressed, marginalized, and poor - we need to be ready to judge injustice, inequality, and violence. 

There’s no greater current example of this than the ongoing situation in Ukraine. As we continue to witness the violence and destruction that has killed many people and forced millions to flee, we need to be able to call this what it is - evil acts of violence and power that don’t fit into God’s plan for the world. Regardless of the history in the area, there’s no scriptural or ethical basis for the invasion of Ukraine.

Apart from the news coming from this area, our family has been receiving regular updates from distant relatives who are in Ukraine right now. This was their latest update which we received today. Please be aware that some of the details are graphic.

Today our day began with preparing of food kits for people who attend our church. In the morning I delivered food at these people's homes. For all of us this food is really in time, I guess. It's a great pleasure to be able to take care and support each other in such difficult time. 

Near noon, I had to convoy a car that was transporting murdered civilians. They were mostly men. Some of them had their hands tied. All of them were shot by Russian occupants. Some were shot in the cars and then dragged to the ditch, some were covered with ground. In all, eleven people were found. Horrible, scary, inhuman view. We had to load those murdered civilians into a truck and take them to the Kherson morgue. There were people waiting outside the morgue. They have lost their friends or relatives and don't know where to look for them. One of those people recognized his brother among the murdered.

This is the day when I realize what exactly war looks like. What an occupant who kills innocent civilians looks like. What the "Russian peace" looks like. Tonight there was artillery shelling. One of the missiles hit the kitchen of the Stepanivka mental care hospital, but didn't explode! It is a miracle! Every day we pray about rockets do not explode! Thank God people can still cook food for patients. Shrapnel flew on the homes of our church members. We constantly hear explosions and shots from all the sides of our town. Many soldiers of the Russian army understand that they are occupants and they do not want to kill anybody. But they are ordered to shoot both soldiers and civilians.   

If we want to stand with the victims of this violence, then we must call out the perpetrators of this war. We must call on Putin’s Russia to repent of their actions and work towards peace and reconciliation. Yes, this requires judgement and we shouldn’t take that lightly. We must recognize the millions of Russians who are powerless to do anything about this. We also can’t let our judgment of these evil acts turn into hatred for Russian people or those of Russian-decent. 

I stand with our church (Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite World Conference) in calling out these acts of aggression and violence and praying for justice and peace. May those in power see the error of their ways and stop this war. Lord have mercy.