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Judging a Book by its Cover


The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever. (I Timothy 5:24-25)

           Have you ever picked up a book whose cover gave the impression that it was a certain sort of story, and it turned out to be a different sort? I tend to like mysteries and procedural (forensic, police, legal) stories, but one author who established herself well in that range suddenly decided to add an arc that dealt with the main character’s relationship with her niece, and her niece’s romantic entanglements. Another story I started last year promised to be a horror novel and turned into the story of a young man and a transgender person. If I’d wanted to read LGBT fiction, I’d have looked for it (in both cases) but I was looking for mystery or horror. Yep, that’s why they say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
          Another example comes to mind. There’s a meme shared sometimes that tells the story of a biker who had worked long and hard to develop his biker persona. One day, a mother pulled her daughter away from him, saying, “Stay away from that dirty biker.” The man was hurt that this horrible woman who judge him in such a negative way. He considered himself to be kind. He thought the moral of his story was “Don’t just a person by their fashion choices.”
          A more personal example. One day while working as a glorified stock clerk, I told a little girl not the play on the escalator. Her father was angry. She wasn’t playing. Later, as they rode down the stairs for the umpteenth time, I overheard him saying something about “people with high school educations.” I’d earned an MBA several years earlier. “Don’t judge a person by their occupation.”
          These are examples that allow me to understand, at least a little, why some younger folks are rejecting the idea of being judged as “male” or “female” based on their appearance. Yes, they have issues that need to be addressed, but in some cases, I think they also just don’t want to be judged according to their appearances. Their gender is not all of who they are. It might not be more than a small part of who they are.
          That’s at least part of what Paul is warning Timothy about here. Don’t judge people quickly. Sometimes, people who look great are garbage, and sometimes people who look like garbage are great. A person steeped in sin may become saved, and a person who proclaims himself to be saved may eventually reveal he’s been hiding not only the fact that he’s not saved but the fact that he’s a monster.

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