HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, September 18, 2025 – There’s a video clip making the rounds lately featuring a prominent conservative influencer interacting with a group of prostitutes. The influencer doesn’t denounce the prostitutes for their career choice or immorality; instead, he steers the conversation towards career alternatives and discusses the impact that prostitution could have on the women’s current and future relationships. The comments under the video clip unanimously praise the influencer for not “judging” the women and for being “respectful” of them. Some comments even mention how the prostitutes seem to appreciate not being judged.

You know who else would appear non-judgmental and respectful of prostitutes while they unrepentantly brag about plying their trade?

Satan.

Satan would very much let the women wax eloquent over their ungodly behavior (the more ungodly, the better). Satan would also politely listen while the women spiritually hung themselves with their own words. Satan’s specialty is standing by and letting sin run its course, somewhat like what was happening in the video with the prominent conservative influencer.

Jesus, on the other hand, wouldn’t have had such a discussion with “working girls”, mainly because they would have avoided him like the plague. The full measure of God’s Spirit in Jesus would have been way too powerful for the demons in the women to be anywhere near him. As scripture shows, the only prostitutes who approached Jesus were repentant ones, and then only on their knees and in tears (their choice, to be on their knees and in tears). This is the effect that the Holy Spirit has on the repentant.

Jesus didn’t prevent prostitutes from being around him; they just didn’t want to be around him.

We don’t do sinners a favor by being non-judgmental and respectful of their state of sin. We don’t do them a favor by giving them a platform to brag publicly about their ungodly behavior and dig deeper holes for themselves spiritually. What we do when we choose to be “non-judgmental” and “respectful” of sinners bragging about their sin is set them up for ridicule and shaming, while at the same time promoting the viability of their sinful ways to other sinners. We also don’t do ourselves a favor when sin is shoved in our face and we choose to look the other way, not wanting to appear judgmental or disrespectful. It’s not our job, as born-again believers, to look the other way. We’ll be held responsible for looking the other way.

God judges. Judging is the essence of who he is. Likewise, God’s Spirit, when present in believers, judges without saying a word. That’s why prostitutes didn’t want to be around Jesus and why the unrepentant don’t want to be around us: They feel judged even without our having to say a word. In feeling judged, they get defensive and then hostile. I’ve seen it over and over again in my interactions with unbelievers. Jesus says we’ll be hated without cause, and so we are. Simply being silent witnesses to God’s Word is enough to make people hate us.

I’m OK with being hated. I’d rather be hated by those who hate Truth than be appreciated by them for being “non-judgmental” and “respectful”. You don’t open a dialogue with sin; you roundly condemn sin and give it no voice. At the same time, however, you can talk about the weather with the unrepentant. If you own a corner store, you can sell them milk and bread and ice-cream. You can be kind to the unrepentant and dialogue with them, just not with their sin. But, as I mentioned, most sinners won’t want to be around you, anyway, not if you have God’s Spirit in you.

The conservative influencer was doing no-one a favor (least of all himself) by corralling prostitutes into making a public spectacle of themselves. God doesn’t call us to dialogue with sin or to give sin a platform under the guise of being “non-judgmental” and “respectful”. Jesus never did. What God does call us to do is stand in his Truth while being kind to the unrepentant. And if they feel judged by our words or merely by our presence, that’s not a bad thing. Let them feel judged. A pricked conscience is how repentance begins.

When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

(Ezekiel 3:18-19)