bringing out the ugly

Where to begin.
Spent much of the day at a voting sight.  Not because I give a crap about the election, but because we happen to find it to be a lucrative time for the PTA to have a bake sale at Liv's school.
To echo many posts on facebook....I will be happy when this election is over.
ugh.
It sure brings out the ugly in people.
Most of it doesn't bother me at all because I don't identify myself with any political party, group, or cause.  So, when people rant and rave about how much better (or worse) the world will be when their party or proposal or person wins (or loses) I find it easy to ignore.
But, it brings out everyone's sin nature.
Yep, I said it.
It brings out our sin nature.
We love to judge.  We love to create an "us" and a "them" and decide who is right, wrong, good, evil, better, worse, smart, dumb, etc.
Yesterday I read some dig against conservatives and how "they" are.  Soon after, I read something sarcastic and demeaning about democrats and how "they" are.  Then I read the horrors about republicans and how "they" are.
These are comments from friends.
I began to wonder...where do I fit into all of this?
It's easy and convenient to say I don't fit neatly into any category, therefore, none of their digs and demeaning comments are directed at me.  La, la la, I can go about my merry way.
But then I realized how horrible it all is.
Because, just when I am starting to feel all self righteous about not judging people and categorizing them and putting them down...I realize I am doing just that.  In my mind, I am thinking "THOSE political people.  THEY are so close minded and misled and annoying and ridiculous."  You get the point.  Any time I start a thought with "Those people..." I know it isn't gonna be good.
Here's the thing.  We all do it.  We all judge.  We step back and point the finger and think, or say, "Those people..."  And we feel so incredibly satisfied that we are "not like those people".
We're not?
Hmmmm.
When God put Adam and Eve in the garden and asked them to refrain from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, why would he do that?  Because he's on a power trip and wants to make sure they obey, right?  Was he just trying to prove He is God and they are not and they better obey?
I don't think so.
He wanted to save us from the horrible sin of judgement.  It's disgusting and awful.
We were not created to judge.  We were not created to claim that we have the knowledge of good and evil.  When we do that, we are living in a way that is not how God created us.  We are living in sin.  Doing things our way.
I do it all the time.  And I pray constantly for God to take over my spirit completely and remove all of my tendencies to judge and finger point and make decisions about people and how much value they have.  Because, in God's sight, everyone has infinite, immeasurable value.  Nothing I decide about a person can change that.  So, I pray that God helps me to see people as He does.
It makes me sad that so many of the people who consider themselves to be followers of Jesus think it is OK to delight in the activity of judging, criticising, finger pointing, accusing, and devaluing others.  I don't care if it happens to be a political candidate who they disagree with.  There is never a reason to delight in eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.   There is never a reason to think it is OK and even claim it is "for His Kingdom".  Yuck.
Go ahead, vote.  By all means!  If you have the freedom to do so, and you feel a particular person is worthy of your vote, cast your vote! But can we ALL try to refrain from being judges and from stepping back and classifying others as "us" or "them"?
I will try to do that the next time a person who has infinite value to God starts ranting about politics.