4.20.2005 | Ugly people

One of my guilty pleasures is watching the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) series, most especially the one set in Miami. This past Monday night's show included a "dating" service, a/k/a upscale whorehouse, in which potential male clients were accepted or rejected on the basis of their outward appearance. In other words, a stand-in for how much of the world judges others.

We all do this, to some degree or another. Make instant decisions about a person based on how they look. The best we can hope to do, I believe, is to get past any such first impressions, and deal with the person behind the façade. For many of us, we never actually get to do this, having made irrevocable decisions based on those critical first impressions.

So, why care about this? After all, there are many people you will meet in the world around you who may actually be less than they first appear. Just as there surely are many who are more. Well, the point is not to obtain a good average at judging others. The point is to attempt to get past judging others at all.

As with most things, we have some guidance from the Author. He tells us, in the first book of Samuel, one difference between us and the One Who made us in His image:

...the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

Now, here's the kicker, just in case any of us think that we're off the hook because we are, after all, not the Lord. Matthew 5:48:

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

This is clearly our goal. That we fall short is not surprising. That we must keep on trying is our lifelong duty if we are to follow Him.

| technorati tag | Christianity|