"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 So often we look at others and make a quick decision about them by their appearance. They look different from us, so therefore there must be something wrong. Can you tell a christian from their outward appearance? For us as christians, shame on us for trying to decide if someone is a christian by the way they look. Is their hair too long, are their jeans ripped in many places, do they have tattoos, do they have piercings, is their hair a different color, is their music just a little too loud? We tend to judge people right off the bat by their appearance rather than what their heart is saying. Too many times we don't give a person a chance because we have already judged them by the way they look. We tend to judge others by the gossip we have heard, by the things that have been said about them, before we even give them a chance to show us what their heart is all about. Why do we do this? We tend to makes judgements because of the worlds standards, when we as christians should not be judging anyone at all by their appearance. We should follow Christ's example, He didn't judge others for the way they looked, He could see straight to their hearts. The heart of a person speaks much louder than their appearance. Our hearts should be so full of Christ that we are sharing His love with others, not trying to decide if someone really loves Christ by the way they look, or if they are dirty, if they smell, if they are poor, rich,or the color of their skin. God sees the real beauty of a person, He looks to the inside, as we tend to look on the outside. There are many outsiders, many who feel lonely, many who are hurting, many who feel as though something is wrong with them, because others are not giving them a chance to show their heart to others. They are too quickly judged, and so they inturn give up and stay to themselves. Can you remember going to the lunch room when you were a kid? Do you remember just how hard that was? If you were "cool" you could sit anywhere, but if you were different, lunch was a horrible period of time. Even today as adults we do the very same thing. We don't let others in our group because they are different. Shame on us for judging others by the way they look. We are to be who God made us to be, we are to be different and we to reach out to all, not just the ones we think are cool, or of good character by the way they look. There are churches full of people who are judging. Judging by gossip, judging by who your friends are, judging by your color, judging by who you know, judging by what you do, judging by the clothes you have on, what else can we add here? You fill in the blank. I have been judged by gossip, by many other things, so yes, I do know what it feels like to be judged, do you? Most of us have been judged at one time or another, and most of us have judged at one time or another. Its time we make the choice to stop judging, stop looking at others and begin with ourselves. Just because someone is different, doesn't mean they are not loved by God. He doesn't make junk, and He has never made a mistake, so if we are judging His children, we are therefore judging Him. Lets make a change today in how we reach out to others, and how we accept others. We have a great example who stands before us, may we follow Christ's example today and love those around us..
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
What are you looking at?
"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 So often we look at others and make a quick decision about them by their appearance. They look different from us, so therefore there must be something wrong. Can you tell a christian from their outward appearance? For us as christians, shame on us for trying to decide if someone is a christian by the way they look. Is their hair too long, are their jeans ripped in many places, do they have tattoos, do they have piercings, is their hair a different color, is their music just a little too loud? We tend to judge people right off the bat by their appearance rather than what their heart is saying. Too many times we don't give a person a chance because we have already judged them by the way they look. We tend to judge others by the gossip we have heard, by the things that have been said about them, before we even give them a chance to show us what their heart is all about. Why do we do this? We tend to makes judgements because of the worlds standards, when we as christians should not be judging anyone at all by their appearance. We should follow Christ's example, He didn't judge others for the way they looked, He could see straight to their hearts. The heart of a person speaks much louder than their appearance. Our hearts should be so full of Christ that we are sharing His love with others, not trying to decide if someone really loves Christ by the way they look, or if they are dirty, if they smell, if they are poor, rich,or the color of their skin. God sees the real beauty of a person, He looks to the inside, as we tend to look on the outside. There are many outsiders, many who feel lonely, many who are hurting, many who feel as though something is wrong with them, because others are not giving them a chance to show their heart to others. They are too quickly judged, and so they inturn give up and stay to themselves. Can you remember going to the lunch room when you were a kid? Do you remember just how hard that was? If you were "cool" you could sit anywhere, but if you were different, lunch was a horrible period of time. Even today as adults we do the very same thing. We don't let others in our group because they are different. Shame on us for judging others by the way they look. We are to be who God made us to be, we are to be different and we to reach out to all, not just the ones we think are cool, or of good character by the way they look. There are churches full of people who are judging. Judging by gossip, judging by who your friends are, judging by your color, judging by who you know, judging by what you do, judging by the clothes you have on, what else can we add here? You fill in the blank. I have been judged by gossip, by many other things, so yes, I do know what it feels like to be judged, do you? Most of us have been judged at one time or another, and most of us have judged at one time or another. Its time we make the choice to stop judging, stop looking at others and begin with ourselves. Just because someone is different, doesn't mean they are not loved by God. He doesn't make junk, and He has never made a mistake, so if we are judging His children, we are therefore judging Him. Lets make a change today in how we reach out to others, and how we accept others. We have a great example who stands before us, may we follow Christ's example today and love those around us..
