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Don’t Forget
Posted on May 21st, 2012 No commentsDo you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexual immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
I went to a networking event for people representing various social/human services & healthcare agencies. A heated debate broke out for about 10 minutes when one person referred to people who utilized an agency’s services as “clients”. Two other women objected on the grounds that such language creates an “us” v. “them” mentality, or implies a hierarchy where the “client” is lesser than the professional.
An acquaintance indicated to me that the opposite of judgment is identification. That was a revelation. I always thought that the opposite of judgment was non-judgment. It’s hard to be judgmental of people that I identify with. It’s hard to be judgmental of people who are in my group. There’s too much understanding & empathy to be judgmental.
I’m not sure what my word of wisdom for the day is. Maybe its inclusion. If I made an effort to figure out where I can identify with another person, what group we both come from, I’d be less judgmental. My paraphrasing of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians would be, “Don’t forget where you came from. Don’t look down your nose at anyone else. Before you knew Christ, you were a hot mess.”
4 responses to “Don’t Forget”
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michael May 21st, 2012 at 15:24
I love your “word for the day” focus!
This post is enlightening. I too thought of non-judgement as the opposite of judgement, but you’re right that even more core to non-judgement is identification, since we typically don’t judge ourselves.
So, is the lesson to find common ground in order to avoid judging others? I mean, we’re all sinners, we all carry planks in our eye (so to speak).
Interesting too that the woman noted that a client is lesser than a professional. I’ve always considered my clients to be my superior; they’re my boss. They write the check, so their satisfaction is what’s most important, not my perception of what they should think or do. I think a professional who thinks they are above their clients will find themselves with fewer (or no) clients.
You are blessed!
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rhonda May 21st, 2012 at 18:09
Hi Isa & Michael,
I’m glad my post had an impact on the both of you. Isa, thanks for the link, I read it and found it quite interesting.Michael, I don’t know what your “daytime” job is, but I do think there is a difference between the for-profit & nonprofit worlds. You said, “they write the check, so they’re satisfaction is what’s most important”. In the social services world, many clients are accessing services – job training, parenting skills, public assistance, etc – that are being provided to them for no charge, so that changes the dynamic greatly. You’re a professional, but your client pays you, and that levels the playing field. In the nonprofit world, you have a professional providing services to a person who is either not paying, or paying a deeply discounted rate. That throws off the power dynamic. No the professional has more power & the client has less. People seek out social services because they have to, not because they want to. In the for profit world, if you are less than professional, clients will walk away. In the nonprofit world, client often cannot walk away. The non-judgment/identification issues is just a smaller piece of a justice issue.
Michael, thanks for your past posts & words of encouragement to us all.
Peace,
Rhonda-
michael May 21st, 2012 at 22:07
That makes sense.. I misunderstood the situation.. Thanks for clarifying.
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Isa>isa May 21st, 2012 at 13:20