Judged on Your Performance?

Does it feel like you're always being judged on your performance? Well . . . you probably are. No matter where we go, what we do, or how old we get – we’re judged.

Last weekend, I watched a women’s figure skating competition on TV, where the stakes were high. The two skaters with the highest scores not only won medals for that competition, they were also given spots on the U.S. Olympic team. All the young women skated across the ice, displaying their skills, knowing that every move was being analyzed. Tremendous amount of pressure!

Since viewing that competition, I’ve thought a great this week about how each of us is judged on how well we perform. Sure, some of the judgment is self-induced. Competitive skaters know what they’re getting into when they step out onto the ice. And people ask to be judged when they enter a contest. Just look at American Idol. We wonder, “What were they thinking?” when people who can’t carry a tune put themselves into a position of being judged, only to exhibit bafflement and anger when they’re not given the golden ticket.

Being judged on our performance begins at the moment we emerge from the womb, our lungs fill with air, and we let out a cry. Parents compare their children's development by bragging about how early their baby learned to crawl, walk, or speak a few words.

From kindergarten through college, our performance is graded.
As adults, we’re judged on how well we cook, clean, manage our finances, raise our children, treat our spouse, and provide for the family.

In the work place our performance is rewarded with raises and promotions, or we’re told our work needs to improve. If we don’t perform up to expectations, we’re fired. For some, performance is based on sales quotas and return customers. Restaurants are judged by written reviews, movies by critics, and actors by their peers through award shows.

The church isn’t immune. It’s judged on attendance, the music, the type of in-house and outreach programs offered, and how liberal or how conservative the members tend to be. People evaluate the pastor’s sermon, and whether the music was too loud or a singer too sharp in pitch. One person is viewed as volunteering too much and trying to be in control, while others are judged as not helping and doing their part to keep things rolling along.

Oh, yes . . . performance is judged every day in one form or another.

But we can take delight and rest in the fact that God doesn’t look at our performance. He doesn’t hand over report cards with As for excellence and Fs for failing. He looks at our hearts and loves us unconditionally.

Praise God for that! Because there are days when I’m not so sure I’d like to see my own report card . . . ;-D

Dawn