Judging

I’ve just finished reading the book; “The Madness of Grief.” It’s written by Rev. Ricard Coles. You may have seen him on the TV or heard him on the radio. He is sometimes known as the TV vicar. And he has the privilege of being the only vicar to have had a number one chart hit in the British charts. In 1985 he joined the band The Communards. In 1986 they had a number one hit with the song “Don’t leave me this way.” The song was the biggest selling song of 1986. A classically trained musician, Richard Coles played the keyboard. As I understand it, he was brought up with a faith, left his faith and then returned to his faith. He in Anglican priest. He is gay. He was in a civil partnership with, as he says it in the book, the love of his life, David Coles. David Coles was also an Anglican priest. In fact that’s how they met. When I first saw Richard Coles on the TV on QI, I remember thinking, how does a vicar have time to be on programmes like this? Turns out he combines his media work with being a vicar, Has done for years. I have grown to admire Richard Coles. He does not live the life that I live and if we met I would love to talk to him about life, his faith and maybe even sing with him! What struck me most as I read his account of losing David to alcoholism, was the challenge of how much I judge people. And not just people like him, lots of people. He writes deeply of his loss and of his faith and of the hate he has received because people don’t like they way he lives. Here’s my dilemma: some Christians talk about the God of love and yet have the capacity to be extraordinarily unloving, hateful even. I’m not making the depth of this up either. After David died, Richard received letters telling him his beloved David would rot in hell and so would he if he didn’t change his ways. These letter, tweets and messages came from people who claimed to be Christians. This is considered a hate crime and the police have been involved. How can this be? Christians who believe in the God of love! Have you ever considered why God said Adam and Eve could not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? It was because judging good and evil is God’s job, not ours. As soon as we judge others, we are back in the garden. But we love to judge, don’t we. My heart was softened and hugely challenged as I read Richard’s book. How many times, I wondered, have I judged others and condemned them to pain and isolation? How many times have I played God and got it terribly, terribly wrong? Truth is, I love to judge because mostly it makes me feel better, bigger, more right. But if God really is the God of love, and of that I am absolutely convinced, then he loves the one I am judging. And I would do well never to forget that. Love wins. It won on the cross and it will win in the end. Love is what we are called to as Christians. Thank you Richard for sharing your heart at one of the most painful times of your life and helping me to look again at my heart. May God bless you.