SCRIPTURE: Romans 14:13a (CEB) – larger reading Romans 14:13-23
So stop
judging each other.
STORY:
Dodie Gadient, a schoolteacher for thirteen years, decided
to travel across America and see the sights she had taught about. Traveling
alone in a truck with camper in tow, she launched out. One afternoon rounding a
curve on I-5 near Sacramento in rush-hour traffic, a water pump blew on her
truck. She was tired, exasperated, scared, and alone. In spite of the traffic
jam she caused, no one seemed interested in helping.
"Leaning up against the trailer, she prayed, 'Please
God, send me an angel . . . preferably one with mechanical experience.' Within
four minutes, a huge Harley drove up, ridden by an enormous man sporting long,
black hair, a beard and tattooed arms. With an incredible air of confidence, he
jumped off and, without even glancing at Dodie, went to work on the truck.
Within another few minutes, he flagged down a larger truck, attached a tow
chain to the frame of the disabled Chevy, and whisked the whole 56-foot rig off
the freeway onto a side street, where he calmly continued to work on the water
pump.
The
intimidated schoolteacher was too dumbfounded to talk. Especially when she read
the paralyzing words on the back of his leather jacket: 'Hell's Angels --
California'. As he finished the task, she finally got up the courage to say,
"Thanks so much," and carry on a brief conversation. Noticing her
surprise at the whole ordeal, he looked her straight in the eye and mumbled,
"Don't judge a book by its cover. You may not know who you're talking
to." With that, he smiled, closed the hood of the truck, and straddled his
Harley. With a wave, he was gone as fast as he had appeared.
OBSERVATION:
We all do it… don’t we? We
see the outer shell of a person and pass a quick judgment. Even though
scripture clearly states that we shouldn’t, we still do… regularly.
When we see a person with
tons of tattoos – do we see the tattoos or the person? When we see someone with
all sorts of body piercings – do we see the piercings or the person? When we
see a black person do we see the color of his/her skin or do we see a person?
When we see two men or two women kissing do we see homosexuals or do we see two
people in love? When we see a homeless person holding up a sign asking for
donations, do we see a lazy homeless person or someone in need of a hand up?
We do it all the time. This
tendency of ours becomes a barrier that keeps us separated, isolated and far
less than what God has called us to be. “Don’t judge a book by its cover. You
make not know who you are talking to.” Wise words for a very unlikely source,
but why should his comment surprise us? Because he was a member of Hell’s
Angels or rode a Harley or a had a beard?
Romans scripture says – stop
it – period. It does say, “try to stop” or “make every effort not to judge” or
“do what you can to stop” … it just plain out states: Stop it! End of story. If
we empowered by the Holy Spirit… well, you get the picture.
PRAYER:
Okay, you’ve communicated to
us in no uncertain terms. We are going to stop right now, this very moment.
From this moment on we are going to see people – not women people, not Arab
people, not Republican or Democratic people, not gay people, not homeless
people, not black/red/yellow people … we are going to see just God created
people. People that Christ came to die for.
Note: Starting on Monday, June 30th I will
be taking a three-week vacation from writing my daily blog. Thanks for
continuing to read these simple words from an old preacher.
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