Don't Judge

I've been doing a lot of thinking about and having conversations about heart vs appearance lately. How judgemental our world is about someone's appearance. Certainly, appearances have changed dramatically over the past 50 years. Some changes are better than others, in my opinion, but the changes are abundant and give people quite an arsonal on which to judge others. 

I had a conversation recently about hair length. Actually, it's come up a couple of different times in regard to a couple different boys with a couple of different people. In one instance, I was asked my opinion about whether or not a teenage boy should get a haircut. My answer was simply I think seeing his eyes was important and if his hair reflected a negative attitude then maybe it needed to be cut. However, if he has a good attitude and is pleasant, behaves well etc I didn't think hair length was a battle to fight.  I have probably always been a little more on the outside or less than 'norm' when it comes to hair length on a boy. I just don't think it's that big of a deal in isolation.

What I believe is much more vital than hair length is heart - 1 Samuel 16:7 regarding David being chosen as king says, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as a man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 

I can say with full confidence I have never prayed about the appearance of one of my children, but I have prayed countless times about their hearts! Hearts have value and God tells us to 'above all else, guard our hearts!' Out of the overflow of our HEARTS, the mouth speaks! You can tell so much more about a person from a conversation than a glance at their appearance.

I've had hair and I've not had hair. I prefer it. :) However, it's just hair and I understand in the world we live in people make judgements based on appearance. I would never want to give anyone the wrong impression based on appearance but unless and until we know someone's heart we are making judgements and quite frankly, many times they are just wrong. 

So, last night we were feeding our dogs and suddenly God just gave me this thought. I think it's a great illustration on judging.

We have a 14 year old black lab named Bailey. I would never want anyone to see her without knowing us. If they saw Bailey in isolation, based purely on her appearance, there would most certainly  be judgements made about her and us. I even made the comment to the girls that we would probably be reported for animal neglect - based on her appearance. She is so thin you'd think it had been weeks since she'd had a meal. Her backbone is clearly visible and so are her ribs. She probably doesn't weigh 50 lbs. Maybe less. I'm a horrible 'judge' of weight. 

However, the truth is, she gets fed twice a day and we feed her some high quality, high priced food. Kyleigh, our resident animal advocate, found this dog food online through a company called Smart Pak. They send out a 28 day supply of food for each of our pets. Each meal is individually packaged with each dogs name on it. They come in these amazing containers that fit nicely in our pantry. This food contains quality ingredients and no fillers. It is not cheap. Bailey has been on this food for over a month. Kyleigh researched it and talked to the company about the proper amount she would need and so we ordered it and all three dogs seem to love it. 

She still looks neglected. But, she's not. My husband is known to warm up or even cook this dog people food. We've discussed her future and have decided until she stops running and getting her ball  to play with us, or stops wagging her tail, we'll keep on feeding her and giving her shelter and love. 

For me it was just such a  vivid reminder on how wrong we can be when we judge people based on one thing. Or anything really.  Maybe it's a piercing or a tattoo. Hair length, the neighborhood they live or the car they drive. Their friends. Jobs. Gossip we hear. 

I heard a great quote that I keep in mind all the time. It simply says this...

Be kinder than necessary. Everyone is facing some hidden battle we know nothing about. 

I think generally speaking, people are hard enough on themselves  without others adding to it. Wouldn't the world would be a better place if we spent less time judging and more time loving. Giving the benefit of the doubt and exercising grace over condemnation. See the heart!