Why do people judge me?

"Dear Josh,
I've done things that aren't cool. Why do people who do the same judge me?
Sincerely, Judgersarejerks"

Dear Judgersarejerks,

Hey, thanks for being so honest and humble. You have a good start on life if you are willing to admit your own failures and weaknesses. I'm sorry people judge you. I know what that feels like and it isn't fun.
I think people like to hide who they really are. In the Christian world it is a sick game that ends up hurting a lot of people and creating this kind of self-righteous "our crap doesn't stink" attitude among the rest. People hide because they are scared. Scared of being outed for whatever they did and scared of what people (parents, friends, girlfriends, church people, etc) will think about them if they knew. People like to hide by acting like they aren't so bad. So they prop themselves up and push others down. Sometimes they are tyring to fool others, sometimes they are trying to fool themselves. All the time they are judging liars. So listen, who cares what jerks like that think. In fact who cares what people think, period. Use God as your judge (he is gentle, kind and good) and not others (who are foolish, selfish and not good). Listen to what he says about you, his voice should matter most. Say sorry when you mess up, but don't live in guilt, live in forgiveness and freedom.
Jesus, has harsh words about those who judge, "Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:37) Before you google search the topic, you should know that there are idiots on the Internet who theologically confuse judging with using judgement. Using judgement is thinking through right and wrong, good choices and poor choices, who it may be healthy for you to hang out with and who it may not be healthy for you to hang out with. So use your judgement and don't hang out with judgers. They also confuse it with loving accountability (Paul and Lydia in acts). Sometimes we need friends to help us see things in our own lives that we can't see ourselves. But these people are not judging, they are lifting us up, they are being our mirror, they always are friends and they always do it in loads of love and gentleness.
I think it is funny that Jesus called people names. He called the a lot of church people hypocrites and he did it because they judged others, acting like they were better than everyone else. A great story to check out is John 8:1-11
I blog about it here

Hope that helps my friend. Thanks for being so cool and honest.

Josh