Judge Not

We have a friend at church who gets very defensive when someone asks the question, "What do you do for a living"? I suppose that some people actually are curious as to what his occupation is, but there are others who use that question to answer another --"How much money do you make"? I have never really thought much about it until lately, but the truth is that most of us judge people (at least to some degree) by what their job is, their education, and how much money they make. Aren't we all more impressed by someone who says they are a brain surgeon that by someone who is a janitor? It isn't that the brain surgeon is a better person, but we know that someone who has gone through medical school and performs intricate surgery on the brain is a pretty sharp cookie.



My husband is the only child born to parents who were almost 40 when he was born. He is now 41. His parents are retired of course, but they do own a car wash and some apartment buildings, which means he and I have to help them take care of their businesses. With a car wash comes a lot of trash. Unfortunately, the trash will not empty itself. I know you are jealous that I get to be the trash lady, but don't hate - it isn't as glamorous as it sounds. Anyway, lately I have noticed that when I am emptying trash, people treat me differently than they normally do. When I am 'Beth the Trash Lady' people treat me as though I work for them. They look at me with pity - I call it the 'poor girl has to empty the trash for a living -she should have gotten an education' look. Little do they know that I am college educated and I don't have to empty trash for a living, I do it to help my father-in-law.



Recently, while hubs was working at the new house, he decided to take a break and go to a furniture store in the downtown area of our town. He was wearing old boots and work clothes when he went in. He was checking on a price for a bedroom suite that we wanted to buy for our new house. The lady who owns the store apparently did not see him as a 'real' potential customer because of his attire. We ended up buying the furniture from a different store. Last week I went to this same furniture store just to look around and waste some time while I waited to pick Lake up from school. I was dressed in my "uniform" - blue jean capris, sandals, and a summer shirt. When I told her that my hubs had come in to price some bedroom furniture, she remembered him and she immediately 'wrote me off' as well. I have to say it gave me great joy to tell her that we purchased the bedroom suite from another store (I wanted to say "from a store who wanted our business", but I didn't).



These experiences have really made me think. Do I treat people differently because I perceive them to be 'more important' than others? Do I judge people by their outward appearance or by their profession? Do I assign more 'worth' to those who have more material possessions?



Most importantly, do I judge people outwardly when I really need to be looking at their hearts?

My point here is : Looks can be deceiving.

Sometimes, things are not as they seem. Sometimes people are not as they seem. Some people have the ability to mask their true inward feelings. There are people who go to church every Sunday, serve themselves into the ground, but are lost and on their way to hell. I daresay each of have friends that are not as sure of their salvation as we are. We see these people in the pews every week and we assume that they are saved, but maybe they are just dressed as one who is saved. Maybe their 'clothes' hide who they really are. Maybe they know all the right words and say all the churchy phrases we like to hear, but do they really know Jesus?



Or what about those women (and men) who don't go to your own church. You know the ones I am talking about. The ones who go to a church that you know holds to beliefs that are not Biblical (yes, that includes denominations that are very common - does your denomination's beliefs line up with the Bible?). Churches that support homosexuality, that allow gay women to stand in the pulpit each week, that don't believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, those who think its okay to go out drinking on Saturday night as long as you are at church on Sunday, those who tickle the ears instead of preaching the Truth, those that are more of a social club than a real God-honoring church.........remind you of anyone you know?

I think we all know people who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. Even the person who seems to have it most together can go to hell. Look at Oprah, for years she spoke of her Christian faith, yet now we see it was a fraud - - and who has it outwardly more together than Oprah?What we have to remember is that regardless of occupation, dress, appearance, intelligence, those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will split hell wide open.