Lauren Daigle and Why Christians are so Terribly Judgemental
For some reason many Christians today are extremely critical and judgemental of Lauren Daigle and try to justify their judgement despite the fact that Jesus told us not to judge others.
I am not sure why we, as Christians, are so apt to judge others, especially other Christians, but we are, and that is one of the first things non-Christians notice about us, which is sad to say the least. Having one of our worst qualities to be the first thing many people notice about us is not a good look and does not help anyone come unto Christ. Some Christians, or at least so called Christians, have YouTube channels dedicated to judging and condemning other Christians, despite the fact that throughout his ministry a common theme Jesus talked about was how we should not judge others, but apparently those who spend a large portion of their time judging others somehow think they are without fault and are not only justified but obligated to throw out the first stone, as well as many other stones to follow.
When Jesus encountered the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery and it was pointed out to him by the religious hypocrites that Moses, in the law, said that people who were guilty of adultery, as that woman clearly was, should be stoned he did not argue with the law or say that this woman should be the exception, and in fact, Jesus on this and all other occasions it came up he defended the law. No, Jesus did not argue with the law or say that it did not apply or even insinuate that the woman did not deserve death, instead he pointed out the faults of those who were accusing her and told them the one who was guiltless should throw the first stone, and of course, anyone who is familiar with the Bible knows that no stones were thrown on that occasion as no one was guiltless and the all knew it.
We will never know on this side of heaven exactly what Jesus wrote, but whatever he wrote on the dirt in the floor before saying, “He who is without fault should cast the first stone” caused each man in attendance to leave in shame instead of throwing a stone. Jesus was not condoning the woman’s sinful activities, far from it, he was pointing out the fact that all of those who were condemning her had broken some of the laws and were equally deserving of being stoned as the woman was. We all have faults, even, and especially, if we think we don’t and the Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us,” (1 John 1:8).
Not judging one another is one of the things Jesus taught that many of us who claim to be his followers outright ignore and think we are somehow justified in doing so. Sometimes in Christian circles it can feel like walking on eggshells when you are around fellow Christians, especially if they are your neighbors. Even though no one likes to be judged by others, far too many of us feel that we are justified in judging others and even come up with some excuse to justify our actions. Even as Christians, we are still flawed and sinful human beings and we should not expect others to be perfect, especially when we ourselves are not perfect.
Not only are Christians eager to judge others for things they do that are actually wrong, we are also eager to judge people for things they do in which there is no actual Biblical prohibition, things that may not be advised but are not hurting anyone else. As Christians we often assign sin where there is none, and we assign ill intent when no malice was meant.
One of the things Christians like to judge one another for that is not prohibited in the Bible is alcohol, despite the fact that there are a number of verses in the Bible that speak positively about the use of alcohol in moderation (Proverbs 3:9-10, Deuteronomy 7:13; 11:14; 33:28, 1 Timothy 5:23, Judges 9:13, Psalm 104:14-15, Deuteronomy 14:23) , and it was used as an offering to God as well (Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:13; Numbers 15:5,7,10 18:12; 28:7,14; Deuteronomy 18:4; 1 Samuel 1:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5; Ezra 6:9; 7:22; Nehemiah 5:11; 10:37,39; 13:12).
Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.-Ecclesiastes 9:7
Not only is alcohol not prohibited in the Bible, the very first miracle Jesus ever performed during his earthly ministry was to turn water into wine, and no, it was not merely grape juice and there is no solid historical or theological grounds to say that it was (1). No one goes to a wedding for grape juice, and if grape juice was served after wine no one would have complained that the best was saved for last. Also, the Greek word that was translated into wine in the passage where Jesus turned the water into wine is the same word used in the Biblical passage that says we should not get drunk on wine (1). Drunkenness is spoken against in the Bible, but alcohol is not, and no, I am not advocating drinking, just making a point. Alcohol is not considered a sin in and of itself in the Bible, but it can become a sin if it causes problems, just like anything else, and if you think it is a sin and drink it than you are probably sinning if you drink because it is a sin do do something you believe to be against the will of God, even if the act is not in and of itself. The thing that makes it a sin is the fact that you are deliberately doing something you believe is against the will of God.
One of my friends from church was recently condemned by some member of the congregation for going to the bars to play pool, even though he did not buy or drink alcohol. At least one of the congregants who was making the judgement call on playing pool supports marijuana, and abortions, and while the Bible does not make any specific mention of wacky tobacco there are a number of verses that would indicate drug use is not good, however the Bible speaks quite clearly about taking an innocent life, and just for clarity, the Bible is completely against the shedding of innocent blood, and babies are the most innocent among us. Some people are apparently oblivious to the huge log sticking out of their own face and yet criticize the splinter in another person’s eye and they are so caught up on pointing out other people’s sins or perceived sins that they cannot see their own sins.
It is quite interesting how and who Christians like to judge, and one of the most commonly judged Christians today is the music artist Lauren Daigle. Some of the things Daigle is judged on is her clothing choices, whose shows she appears on, the fact that she does not use her platform of fame to proselytize, and she is judged because she does not publicly judge others for living lives contrary to the Bible. Those who criticize Lauren Daigle accuse those of us who listen to her music as worshiping her and making her an idol, even though for most of us she is just one of the many artists we listen to, nothing more and nothing less.
Here is the thing, I like Lauren Daigle’s music, but I don’t listen to it to gain theological knowledge and I think it would be a massive mistake to turn to popular music, of any genera, for our theology. There are many many popular Christian artists who have woefully misguided and incorrect theology in their music, including some artist that are backed by or singing in behalf of large churches. It is also of note that Lauren Daigle does not claim to be a Christian artist but rather an artist who is also Christian, which is the category that the majority of those in country music would also fall into. The term Christian artist was not applied to Lauren Daigle herself but by those who listen to her, and despite the fact that her music is often featured on Christian radio, most of her music is much more uplifting than religious and she has relatively few songs that are overtly Christian.
For some reason, a reason I don’t entirely understand, Lauren Daigle is judged more harshly, and with much greater frequency, than many artist who openly claim the title of Christian artists, such as Skillet, and Skillet is a rock band. I have never heard Skillet speak out against the things people apparently want Daigle to speak out against, and the female band members show more skin than does Daigle and on a more regular basis and I have yet to hear anyone judge them for it. For some reason we apparently don’t hold all artists, or even all people, to the same standard.
Alan Jackson identifies and is identified as a country artist and has numerous songs about alcohol and chasing girls, and instead of being criticized by Christians for his worldly music, he is praised for his gospel albums. Some people may mistakenly think that the harsh treatment of Daigle is because she is female, but the facts don’t support that because the punk rocker Avril Lavigne is praised for her praise song “Head Above Water” on her recent album instead of being judged for it being the only faith promoting song on the album and instead of being judged for the cover art where the only think keeping the world from seeing her entirely nude is a strategically placed guitar. Dolly Parton is praised by Christians for her charity work and for her gospel albums while at the same time her secular music and her roles in films such as The Best Little Whore House in Texas are overlooked. Carrie Underwood is praised for her gospel themed songs such as “Something in the Water,” and “Jesus Take the Wheel” instead of being judged for her songs about cheating, murder and other subjects that are unbecoming of Christians.
While it is certainly not the only reason, I think a major reason why Christians judge certain people more harshly is because of the image we have set up for them in our own minds, and when they don’t live up to that standard we set for them we think they have failed us and have failed God, as if we are in a position to judge for God.
In a religious forum I sometimes read I recently learned of a pastor who lived an exemplary life but lost a lot of his congregation when they discovered that he occasionally enjoys smoking a pipe, which is odd considering Charles Spurgeon who was considered “the preacher of preachers”, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S Lewis are praised for their literary contributions to Christianity and they smoked heavily nearly every day of their lives and the later two even heavily incorporated their smoking hobby into their literary works, such as the majority of the good and noble characters in The Lord of the Rings smoking a pipe. Just for the record, I am not in any way trying to condone or encourage smoking, I am just pointing out the double standard of saying Spurgeon, Tolkien and Lewis were men of God, despite their smoking, while judging another man harshly for doing the same.
A lot of the judgement that is leveled against Lauren Daigle is due to her not using her website to preach instead of just using it to sell her music and merchandise, but she is far from being the only artist to do so. Carrie Underwood is extremely open about being a Christian, shows a lot of skin and sings songs about alcohol, adultery, smoking and gambling, but she also has a number of songs that are very Christian. I have never heard of anyone going to Carrie Underwood’s website, which is made to promote her music and her profession, and judging her because she does not use her website to promote her Christian faith, yet there are numerous hours of internet videos dedicated to the claim that Lauren Daigle is a horrible person and a bad Christian, because she does not use her platform and her website to promote Christianity.
Alan Jackson, despite having at least as many gospel albums as Lauren Daigle has albums, since he is viewed as a country artist instead of a Christian artist no one ever judges him for not promoting Christianity on his website. I think that instead of being appalled by Lauren Daigle’s apparent lack of proselytizing we should be appalled by our sinful judging and should spend more time worrying about our own sins and far less time worrying about hers. Yes, we are called to warn other people of their sins and the consequence of sin, but no where in the Bible are we commanded to do so as part of our business endeavors, and we are commanded to not judge others but to worry about our own sins.
If a Christian church’s website does not talk about Jesus than they have failed as a church, but why should we expect a singer to use his or her website to further the gospel when we don’t expect the business websites belonging to Christians in other industries to do the same? When is the last time you went to the Hobby Lobby website, the Chick-Fil-A website, the Forever 21 website or the Mary Kay website looking for theology or a condemnation of those who are not living according to Bible standards? The thought is utterly ridiculous. It would be, of course, great if all Christians did all within their power to further the gospel, but to expect some Christians to do so and not other Christians is a double standard, and it is certainly not up to us to judge anyone else as God alone is in a position to judge.
People Judge Lauren Daigle for appearing on the Ellen Degeneres show and not condemning her for her life choices, but the same people did not, to the best of my knowledge, condemn the reverend Billy Graham for visiting the White House in the 90’s and not openly speaking out against President Clinton’s sinful activities which were spoken about just as harshly in the Bible as Ellen’s sins are. It is typically not good form to be accepted as a person’s guest and use your time to criticize and judge them, and doing so is highly unlikely to lead to repentance. Just because you are kind to a person who is living a life the Bible does not support does not in any way mean that you condone their life style or choices. We are not called to judge, we are called to love, and loving a person who is sinning does not mean we condone their sin but rather that we love them in spite of their sins.
What if I were to tell you that you can be a good Christian and not believe in or support a person’s sinful life style while at the same time not publicly condemning them for it? Sure, Lauren Daigle did not bring up the fact that the Bible is against homosexuality while on the Ellen show, but if she did there is a near zero percent chance that Ellen would have given her heart to God and abandoned her sinful lifestyle. Also, had Lauren Daigle taken the opportunity to condemn Ellen it is unlikely she would have been invited on any other shows, and singing a gospel song that millions of people who would not have ordinarily heard does a lot more to bring people to Christ than judgement would have. Besides, Ellen undoubtedly already knows the Bible’s stance on her lifestyle and is unlikely to put much weight in anything the Bible has to say on that or any other subject. I am a firm believer that you can never hate and judge a person to repentance and the gospel but you can love them to it.
An artist’s prime directive, and yes I am a nerd, get over it, is not to condemn the world and to push their beliefs, but rather is to entertain. However, it is awesome when an artist uses his or her fame to bring people to Christ, but we should not judge them for not doing so. When was the last time you used your position at work to try and convert someone or to call out their sins? Do I think Lauren Daigle does a good enough job speaking about Jesus? Of course not, but than again, I am probably not doing enough either and neither or you. Sure, I host a Christian podcast and blog, but I am not willing to risk my job by talking about gospel topics at work.
Do I think Lauren Daigle is the best example of a Christian life and we should look up to her and try to emulate her behavior and that we should get our doctrine from her? Of course not, that would likely be a horrible idea as we are to use the Bible as out guide and not any human, but instead of judging her we should pray for her, and while we are at it, we should pray that God would soften our hearts and help us to spend more time trying to correct our own faults than proclaiming other people’s faults from the rooftops and judging them for them.
I have attended Finding Favor, Zach Williams, and Big Daddy Weave concerts and there was a prayer session and a call to the alter at each of those shows, and while there is not likely to be a similar event at any of Daigle’s concerts I can’t and should not judge her for it, especially when she does not consider her act to be a Christian act and does not consider herself to be a Christian artist. I would praise God for it if Lauren Daigle were to add a call to the alter and a prayer session to her concerts, but I am not willing to judge her for not doing so because God knows I have done and am doing plenty that I could be judged for. Meatloaf is a born-again Christian, but you would not expect a call to the alter at a meatloaf concert.
I want people to pray for me instead of publicly condemning me, and I pray for Daigle and will continue to pray for her instead of judging her, and I would suggest that we all do the same.
We are all sinful and fallen people, and when we judge others, instead of portraying the Love of Jesus we come across as hypocritical and judgmental people and make others not want to know Jesus because they mistakenly think our poor actions are an accurate representation of him and the Bible. We don’t have to water down the Bible, ignore parts of it, or compromise on our standards to love those and show compassion to those who commit different sins than we ourselves do, and we don’t have to and should not judge others for not being perfect Christians when we are not perfect ourselves. I have a friend who always says, “My sins on me look good, but my sins on you look horrible.”
Let us live the best lives we can and follow Jesus the best we can while showing love and compassion to sinners in the same way in which we want God to show love and compassion to us, because we are all sinners and we all need the grace of God.
Thank you for reading, and God bless.