Judging By Appearances

Good Evening to All!
In case you are wondering, I type in the Verse of the Day for "tomorrow" because they change at midnight, and usually, it's late evening before I get my post typed. I tried typing it in the morning, but I always felt rushed, because I leave for "Curves" at 9:am and start cleaning houses at 10:am, then by the time I get home, and rest a bit, it is time to straighten up my own house and cook supper, and clean up. Before I know it, it's 9 or 10pm.

Tomorrow's Bible Verse of the Day (Amplified Bible)

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.
Psalm 119:18

Bible Seeds Devotion:

Judging by Appearances

Today's Seed: "You are looking only on the surface of things. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as he." 2 Corinthians 10:7

The Amplified version states it this way: Look at [this obvious fact] which is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him reflect and remind himself that even as he is Christ's, so too are we.

Look at that guy over there. And that young woman with him--what color is her hair anyway? And those earrings and their shoes and....No matter what our age, there are people in the world who look strange---to us.

Judging by appearances can become an everyday habit if we allow it. With our mental critique we often condemn others. Who are we to set ourselves up as judges? We forget that, perhaps, they're judging us--and finding us lacking also.

When the apostle Paul was trying to prove himself to the Corinthians, he accused them of looking only on the surface of things, of judging by appearances. Paul asked, and we should ask, too, is it right to judge people by what we see? Or think we see? Based on appearances its difficult to tell what a person is really like. Many people hide their true emotions--some under a facade of humor, others behind a prickly pear mask.

Only God knows our inner being. We can tell what a person looks like, but God can tell who a person is. first Samuel 16:7 reminds us, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." What does God see when he looks at you?

Dig Deeper: The Greek word for "judging" is aisthesis, meaning perception and discernment, to see or understand differences. We need to look beyond the surface and forget about judging others.

*** Unfortunately, I believe that it is human nature to compare others to ourselves as a human mechanism. I have even wondered if it isn't involuntary. That doesn't make it right, it just means that we have to work hard to keep those thoughts out of our minds. Even the most harmless comparisons can be judgmental and turn out to be harmful even if they aren't meant to be. The more we allow ourselves to have these thought patterns, the harder it is to control them.

Background Bulb: In the first six verses of chapter 10, Paul defends his ministry. ;He has been accused of not being "spiritual" enough and not having the credentials to be a true apostle. Paul doesn't mind being asked about his credentials, but he doesn't agree with the Corinthians' measuring tool. Surface things, such as a person's stage presence, speaking skills, confident claims, and authoritative manner impressed them. Paul wanted to be judged by how his ministry had affected those who had heard him, not by how he looked or spoke. He didn't want the Corinthians to be led away from truth by the next great speaker who taught unbiblical ideas.

Weed & Water: Make an effort to open your heart and mind to people who are different from you. Look beyond the clothes, hair, language, skin color, and way they do things to find common ground. You might be surprised to find that your difference can be fascinating. You might even discover that you like different.

Think about it:

On what basis did Paul want to be evaluated by the Corinthians?
How can you accept others who belong to Christ?

Prayer Pot: Lord, help me to look beyond the surface and see....

God Loves You. God loves all people. We are His creation, our actions are our own.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

PJ