READ: Samuel 16:7
When my children were teenagers, I had this thing about boys and tattoos and body piercings. I just made the assumption that they were the trouble-making boys. I favored the preppy or redneck look. I was talking to my youngest daughter about it, and God used her to convict me of my sin. She said, “Daddy you always tell us to just love people, but you are making a judgment on these boys and you don’t know them. Some of the boys you have written off just because you don’t like their looks are really nice boys. Just because they have an earring doesn’t mean they do drugs, and some of the ones you like because of their looks have you fooled. They are the ones who are the most mean or who are doing the worst things.” She was right. God’s word is right. When it says people judge by outward appearances the Lord looks on the heart. God doesn’t play favorites. Our job is to love people not categorize them or discriminate against them. What is it about us that is so broken that we have to put other people down in order to feel better about ourselves? Every person, regardless of accent, education, economics, politics, geography, or color is created in the image of God. God loves us all equally. None of us is any better or any worse. We are all sinners, but we are all sinners loved by God. Every single person we meet every day is potentially a brother or sister in Christ. I wonder what would happen in this world if we treated one another that way.
When my children were teenagers, I had this thing about boys and tattoos and body piercings. I just made the assumption that they were the trouble-making boys. I favored the preppy or redneck look. I was talking to my youngest daughter about it, and God used her to convict me of my sin. She said, “Daddy you always tell us to just love people, but you are making a judgment on these boys and you don’t know them. Some of the boys you have written off just because you don’t like their looks are really nice boys. Just because they have an earring doesn’t mean they do drugs, and some of the ones you like because of their looks have you fooled. They are the ones who are the most mean or who are doing the worst things.” She was right. God’s word is right. When it says people judge by outward appearances the Lord looks on the heart. God doesn’t play favorites. Our job is to love people not categorize them or discriminate against them. What is it about us that is so broken that we have to put other people down in order to feel better about ourselves? Every person, regardless of accent, education, economics, politics, geography, or color is created in the image of God. God loves us all equally. None of us is any better or any worse. We are all sinners, but we are all sinners loved by God. Every single person we meet every day is potentially a brother or sister in Christ. I wonder what would happen in this world if we treated one another that way.
– Dr. Tim Thompson