Judging: Relativism vs. just being chicken

Is there a difference between judging and using judgement? I recently posted about the cultural tendency towards putting children first, which, of course, most parents would deem a worthy goal, but in my post I used the word "judge" with regard to the parents in two scenarios. My point was that when parents do this, they commit idolatry when they fail to effectively parent their children. I wasn't very worried about offending them, since they don't exist. Though the events were hypothetical, I suppose being judgemental isn't appropriate, even hypothetically. Another blogger pointed this out to me, to my chagrin. I had to consider if I was guilty of being judgemental, even if I only viewed it as an exercise.

I would like to make a distinction between making a judgement and using judgement. God gave us tools with which we discern right from wrong, namely, our senses and our intelligence. My point is that there is a fear of making any sort of statement that would tend to point out wrongness in any situation. It is politically incorrect to call a sin a sin.

In my hypotheticals, I do not tell you to judge other parents so that you may tell them they are sinning and say, like the Pharisee "Oh, thank God I'm not as bad as you!" I do suggest using your ability to discern when you see sin in others, but to what end? ALWAYS, without fail, my motives for this should be for self application. Not to do so is, in fact, judgemental. When I observe a circumstance and discern something that I believe is wrong, my first objective is to self-evaluate and compare my own behavior in comparison with what is scriptural. The next step is to make corrections in myself if I am remiss. As I said "All scripture is .. profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and instruction in righteousness..." (KJV because that's the one I know, sort of...)

But above all, we as Christians must not be afraid to say that something is scripturally unsound and to make a statement based upon that. I do, however, caution myself because if you make a statement of belief, you must act upon it, and that is more difficult than I would like to admit. In doing so, I am pinning myself down. This is why I believe our culture tends not to make firm statements about anything. This is the curse of relativism.