Every day, it seems, some journalistic entity is having to correct a story because they failed to thoroughly investigate a story and, instead, made a rush to judgment that fit within the narrative they wanted to write in order to push their own agendas and confirm their own biases.

And this happens on all sides.

So, how can we protect ourselves from falling prey to our society’s “rush to judgment” culture and train ourselves not to perpetuate it?

My preaching colleague Matt Dabbs recently shared these ten tips to helps us judge & react less and listen more:

1. React to fewer things than you view, far fewer.
2. Reduce the number of things you view.
3. Increase the amount of time between exposure of a news story and you stating your opinion or judgment about it.
4. If it gets your blood pressure up instantly, you better pay extra close attention to what is going on. You are probably being played for revenue.
5. Listen to other points of view to tease out the biases.
6. Be aware of confirmation bias – we rush most quickly to believe things we are conditioned to want to believe are true.
7. Identify your own biases so you can be aware of how those filters affect your opinions and compromise your objectivity.
8. Take every thought captive to Christ – 2 Cor 10:5
9. “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” – James 1:19
10. Don’t overestimate your own abilities. This means don’t assume your ability to judge things is superior to everyone else’s. You are susceptible to all the same failings and misunderstandings as everyone else.