Perfect Impressions....Monday

Have you ever been to a child's performance? Whether it is a play or a recital, the charm is in the storytelling process not the quality of the performance. So when my husband jokingly gave his opinion of the acting skills in the movie I was watching, I rolled my eyes and tuned him out. The story line had me hooked.

"Perfect on Paper" a Hallmark channel movie, shows the risk we take when we judge people based on their list of accomplishments. Of course, as in all predictable romance stories, there is a young woman and 2 guys. Thanks to the creativity of the story teller choosing what to show us, we can see the good in both guys, but one of them looks better on paper. As time goes by, more is revealed, and we discover truths about each guy's character. A reminder not to judge a book by its cover, or even by the first few pages.

Far more important than choosing who to date, the story does a great job of showing us we are not very good judges. A great outfit, nice car, beautiful home, clean house, fabulous hair etc do not begin to tell us who people really are. Who someone works for, where they went to school. what promotion they received do not tell the whole story. These things are just props, angles, and incidentals in a larger picture surrounding who a person is on the inside.

If I made a list of everything I have ever done, then deleted the things I didn't want you to know about me, I could create lots of different and even perfect impressions of who I am. But bottom line is I am a sinner saved by His grace. Sometimes I am working hard to live a life that please Him, other times I am just thinking of how I can please myself.

But God's Word gives us a guideline for judging others:

"Do not judge others, and you will not be judged

Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you.

Forgive others, and you will be forgiven." 

Luke 6:37 NLT

So why do you see the piece of sawdust

in another believer's eye

 and not notice the wooden beam in your own eye?

Matthew 7:3 GWV

Dear Lord, please search our hearts and show us any specks or any beams in our own eyes. Please forgive for automatically accepting and embracing certain people with certain things on their list while at the same time dismissing or judging others based on first impressions without waiting for substance to show us who a person is. Thank You Lord for waiting so patiently as we very slowly grow up in Christ. In Jesus name, amen.

Written by Mary M Wilkins


A Story About Judging from Emanuella