March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

James 4

I've noticed that these two main thoughts, which comprise this chapter, are so very often linked in the Bible. We are turning from God when we become too caught up in the affairs of the world - and the "Adulterers!" was actually a really striking and beautiful way of thinking of it - cheating on God.

And then the second half - do not judge. "Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another speaks evil against the law and judges the law, but if you judge the law you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is but one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?"

The third idea about not planning on anything in our life is interesting too, but I really find striking the warning implied in linking these themes. The writers of the Bible don't like to go on a tirade of condemnation without warning us against judging our fellow men. These warnings, they say, were written for you to take to heart, not for you to apply to others.

It's an all the more important distinction these days I sometimes think. We're so quick to condemn as a people. And as individual people. We make judgments about people and we have all kinds of rules about what makes you a "good girl" versus a "slut" ("bad boy" and "good boy" have a similar dichotomy but very different connotations) which really just messes us up.

The whole idea about cleaning out the log from your eye before going after the splinter in your neighbor's seems taken even further here - don't go digging around in your neighbor's eyes at all. Then again, we want to help people find their way closer to God, but perhaps that's the difference. We want to show people their way back to God rather than hailing down fire and brimstone against the people we believe are violating the law.

We are not judges of the law. We are not arbiters over it. We are responsible to God for ourselves, and that's quite enough to keep us busy.

Even as I typed it I thought of "Am I my brother's keeper?" which is a good counterpoint to this. But that's different. It's taking care of our neighbors, helping them when they are down, being a good influence to show them that God loves them and that He can be the Light unto their path. Not lecturing at them about their life choices or stumbles.

"As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Anyone then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it commits sin."

As a final thought - just how broadly does that apply? As someone who wonders at the back of her mind every day just what good Shakespeare studies does in the rest of the wide world...yeah, just how broadly does that apply?