One of the most important lessons I learned growing up was never to judge a person from what you see. The old adage, “Never judge a book by its cover” was something I heard over and over again. I always believed that once you had an interaction with someone, you had a basis to judge something about them. Everyone older than me insisted I was wrong. They were right.
I cannot tell you how easily it is to fall into the judgement phase. Someone cuts you off in traffic, someone sits for an extra 30 seconds when the light just turned green, someone brushed off your conversation quickly, and many more that you can probably think of. It’s so easy for us to come to conclusions about others. Think about the people that seem to have it all. Do they really have it all? Was it always easy for them to get what they have? Are they really happy or do they long for something just like we do?
So many questions. So many thoughts. So many quick judgements without knowing the whole story.
Another phrase that comes to mind is, “Don’t judge others until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes”. How true this is!
Aside from documentaries of people pretending to be homeless, and yet go home to mansions with the money they’ve collected for the day, sometimes we may never know the other side of someone. We cannot afford the time, let alone the impossibility, of getting to know everyone. That lady that doesn’t seem to calm down her kids while in the grocery store line? How do you know that she’s had horrible day, the kids may even be acting out less than what she deals with at home, she could be a single mother who has found everything difficult on her own. That man that cut you off in traffic? How do you know his child isn’t being born? How do you know his child had a severe accident or a parent is suffering a heart attack? How do you really know?
Or what about the girl that smiles all the time? She must have it perfect… right? All the money she wants, the biggest house, the nicest clothes… How do you know what her home life is like? Or what about that rich boss you have? Isn’t the nicest, doesn’t talk a lot, kind of seems to shut everyone out and cares only about himself. How do you know he isn’t depressed? How do you know he isn’t having marriage problems, his child is sick and the doctors aren’t sure what to do?
There are so many things, I can’t even begin to make a dent in the list. But the point of all this is that we have no idea. So don’t be so quick to judge.
The Bible tells us so many things about being judgemental. Some of it is a very strong wake-up call. Here are some of those verses for you:
Matthew 7:1-2 “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;
Romans 2:1-3 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
And a good summary verse:
James 4:12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Honestly, who are we? Who am I? The only person who has the right to judge is the very ONE that is perfect. That’s not us. We cannot claim to be perfect, and unless we can claim to be perfect, we cannot have the right to judge. What an unsettling piece of knowledge: to know that the very words that come out of our mouths, our harsh judgemental words, will be the very words used against us in the only judgement that will matter in our lives. I’m not sure about you, but it makes me think. What have I done, what have I said, what have I assumed? Who have I hurt, who have I avoided, who have I placed in a certain “department” in my mind?
I challenge you to take an extra look at your thoughts towards others. Take a second look, take a second glance. Things may not be as they seem.
What do you see? (Poem created by me)
The girl who sits in her seat
Smiling, quiet
Do you see the tear she’s hiding?
The fighting she endures at home?
What do you see?
The man with the expensive car
Always taking vacations, wearing brand name clothes
Do you see his broken heart?
The wife he can’t seem to please?
What do you see?
The woman who can do it all
No task seems too big, no time too short
Do you see her sadness, the family she hardly sees?
Have you seen her aging from her stress of trying to please?
What do you see?
When you look at the boy who seems to laugh
The boy who has too much fun, getting into trouble
Do you see his loneliness, his yearning for friends?
Do you see the brokenness coming from home?
What do you see?
The man who sits on the side of the road,
Asking for money, says he has no home.
Do you see his job loss? His unpaid disability?
Do you see the effects from his loss of family?
What do you see?
A man upon the cross.
Bleeding and praying, he must have done something wrong.
Do you see his love for each and everyone?
His desire to die for the ones that He loves?
Tell me, what do you see?
When you look at me.
Do you see a sinner, someone who’s done wrong?
Or do you see me as happy, thriving in life?
Judgements will be made, opinions will surely come,
But to only one I owe my life, and that is the ONE.
The ONE that people accused, the ONE that calls me home
I know what He sees, He sees His chosen ones.
Calm in Christ and Fitness 