I remember the night I watched Kevin Skinner's audition on America's Got Talent. I felt bad for the country boy who walked up on the stage and was laughed at and ridiculed. He didn't fit the 'big star' mould. He dressed poorly, he spoke with an accent and he caught chickens for a living. Not exactly a glamorous lifestyle. One of the judges just shook his head, another laughed at the way he spoke, one was condescending. But this singer humbly took his place and began to play the guitar and sing. Well the rest is history and if you didn't see it, you should take the time to watch the video included here in this blog.
Sometimes we are so quick to judge someone by their appearance or the way they speak or even the way they smell. If they are shabby and unkempt we don't want to be near them and if they are dressed up fancy and smell nice and have lots of jewelery on and a fine way of speaking, we assume they are a 'good' person. Such assumptions can lead us into trouble. We've all heard the old expression 'you can't judge a book by its cover' and that goes the same for people too. I have seen beautiful women, who look great on the outside but are shallow and cold on the inside. I have seen people who have very little going for them: they are poor by the world's standards, they are simple people who don't know how to act in 'society' but would give you their last crust of bread if you asked for it.
James 2:2-4 For if there comes a gold-fingered man in fancy clothing into your assembly, and if there also comes in a poor man in shabby clothing, and if you have respect to him who has the fancy clothing and say to him, You sit here in a good place, and say to the poor, You stand there, or sit here under my footstool; Did you not make a difference among yourselves and became judges with evil thoughts?
James goes on to say in verse 9 "But if you have respect to persons, you commit sin". Those are pretty strong words! If you show favour, you are committing a sin! God sees us all equal. He created us equally and He loves us equally. He doesn't love someone like Billy Graham any more because he is a famous evangelist, than the town drunk who has never darkened the door of a church. God loves us all equally.
If you take a look at the people God chose to use in the Scripture you will see that God is only looking for willing hearts. He is not looking at the outward appearance as man does. He looks at the heart. If God can use Rahab, a harlot, God can use me. If He can use Moses, a murderer, He can use me. If God can use David, an adulterer, murderer, and liar, He can use me. You get the point... God can use and does use ordinary people who maybe the world would never choose to use. So the next time you are tempted to judge someone by their appearance, just remember the outside may not be reflective of what is on the inside. Enjoy the video!
Post a Comment