by Sara J. Petersen

Created on: December 04, 2009   Last Updated: December 06, 2009

If they are living by the scriptures than the answer is yes. No person should ever think themselves higher than another. Rich or poor, bond or free, Christian or not, we are all God's children, and according to the words of Christ he expects us to treat each other as such.

This does not mean however that we should go places, do things, and regularly hang out with people that lead us away from our morals and beliefs. There is a line that could be referred to as righteous judgment.' Every person has a right to this kind of judgment as it is a judgment of what's right for you instead of judgment passed on a person. Just as a person obsessed with fashion will usually have close friends that are also fashion oriented, it is good to have people around who believe the same as you, but it does not mean that you should ignore or display ill manners toward someone who does not share your values or beliefs. Another comparison is the scenario of a teenager wanting to find a crowd to hang with. If they don't want to do drugs, they probably shouldn't hang out with people who do drugs in places where the drugs maybe present. Doing a project at school, or inviting them to activities where drugs cannot be present, on the other hand may be a perfectly fine idea. Every person has a right to judge who makes them feel comfortable, but does not have the right pass judgment of condemnation or to treat others with dis-respect for their differences.

Christ said to turn the other cheek. We need to keep in mind the situations and beliefs of others as we go about our daily lives. We don't have the right to tell someone what he/she should believe. That is a personal decision that must be made on an individual basis, and will be influenced by many things in a person's life. As part of this life we all have the right to choose, and are given the precious gift of agency. It is not fair for anyone to condemn another for using that agency differently.

When living by Christian principles do we have the right to judge an act? Yes. Certain acts carry certain consequences. When you see these consequences it is perfectly fine to decide that this act is not something you want to do in your life. It doesn't make the person bad, but it is good for us to stand up for our beliefs. For instance when you carry the belief that abortion is murder, voting against legalized partial birth abortion is a good form of judgement. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, and that includes you.

In conclusion, we as Christians should never see someone as lower than ourselves even though we have a right to live our own life style that is usually very different from others around us. We do not know the mind of God in such things, and only he is perfect enough to judge with perfect knowledge. We are taught not to take it upon ourselves to be God. We are his subjects, not his enforcers.

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