Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more