Finally!

So, I've done this blogging thing before. Well, at least I tried at the beginning of my first term of uni, but things got very hectic very quickly, and because too much stuff was happening in such a short space of time, I was finding it hard to write it all down. But now I've decided to try again, and I'm hoping that this time I'll be more successful. I should be revising for my exam, but it seems I'm doing this. The photo on the left is another example of a way in which I have been actively procrastinating and avoiding revision. Ah well, my wall looks more exciting anyway :)


I'm not even sure what to write as a first post. The writer in me is saying "Make it as eye catching and exciting as possible!" My lecturers are always telling me that the first sentence or the first paragraph to any piece of writing has to grip the reader and want them to read on, and I totally get their point. Many a time I've read a book or an article or an essay, and the first paragraph or the first page has been so dull that I've had to put it down. I've convinced myself that my brief synopsis of the first page has told me everything I need to know about that bit of literature. It's dull. It's rubbish. It's so bad I don't even know how it got published! It doesn't have to be a book. It could be a film or television programme or song. Maybe you recognise that you've done that yourself. Maybe even recently. And maybe even when someone asks us about that book/article/film, you have a joke about it with them: "It was so bad that I just had to switch channels!" or "I watched it for five seconds and it made me cringe!" I've done that. In fact, I think I did that today!

Don't get me wrong, there are things which justify a response whereby you put down a book or switch off the television, because they are deeply inappropriate, but that isn't what I'm getting at. What I'm really concerned about is the initial judgments that we all make (I am no exception to this!) about stuff. So let's go back to the book. I am an English literature student after all!

You've read the page and made a judgment about the entire book. The beginning was rubbish so the rest will "logically" follow suit. Now that is one massive judgment. You have no idea whether the plot of the story was intellectually challenging. You have no idea whether the plot was emotional or funny. You've just read the first page and decided that you know all there is to know.

Now this sounds a lot like that old cliche "don't judge a book by its cover." I don't mean it to be. In fact when I started this post, I literally had no idea what I was going to say!

But let's go back to that cliche we all know so well. It genuinely worries me that it has become a cliche. Cliches are usually considered as cheesy or lame or ridiculous or humorous, but I don't think that there is anything cheesy or lame or ridiculous or humorous about someone aiming to resist passing judgment on to someone or something. We've become so used to this old saying, but to what extent are we actually listening to what it is saying? I sometimes find it terrifyingly easy to pass judgment on someone or something, and the worst bit is that some of the time I try and justify my judgment. I'll watch one of the many talent shows on television and come across a person, who in my opinion is badly dressed, cringeworthy and an embarrassment. I'll laugh at them with the people around me. And it's "okay" because it's on television. These shows encourage humiliation and we do exactly what they want us to. This is the world we live in.

What I fail to remember is that these people are just like me, and I am in no position to judge anyone. I have done my fair share of stupid things and I'm only twenty years old. There is a whole lifetime ahead of me to screw up and humiliate myself! Jesus says in Matthew 7:1-3, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

Whether you are a Christian or not, I think Jesus's message is worth listening to. It's very humbling and shocking when we realise just how much we fail in this, and how often we set ourselves up as "worthy" judges. I know that I hate being judged by someone. I get annoyed that someone assumes that they "know" me at a first glance and that it gives them a right to dish out a character evaluation. And yet how often do we do the same? Scary huh?

Unfortunately, we live in a culture where people's misfortunes and public humiliation is regarded as worthy and entertaining humour. We live in a world where we take a look at a person or have a short conversation with them and we think we "know" them. This is the culture that we live in. I'm certainly striving for God to humble me in this area.This is the world future generations are going to live in, and I don't know about you, but this really worries me.


As first posts go, this is pretty serious and extremely long! The next one will be shorter. I hope!
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