Don’t Judge by Appearance

CALL TO PRAYER

Date: 27.04.2021

Title: Don’t Judge by Appearance

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

(Joh 7:24 KJV)

I once watched a video of an African Prophet, who pretended to be a beggar in front of his Church. He did this to see if the members will have compassion towards him and attend to His needs. One by one each member passed over him without giving him attention. He tried reaching out to them, but he was scorned. What pained him the most was when he tried entering the Church with his torn clothes, but his ushers resisted him because of his looks. However, the congregation was surprised to later know that it was their Man of God they overlooked; the instrument God intended to use to bless them that day.

How often do we make judgments based on what we can see outside? Often in scriptures, we find our Lord appearing in forms that are different from our imaginations of Him, just to see how we will act. He appeared as a traveller needing rest to Abraham (Gen. 18: 1 – 5), and in a form unknown to two disciples shortly after His resurrection (Mark 16:12, Luke 12:14 – 35). If He did this in the scriptures repeatedly, we should know that it is His nature, and He can do it again. Apart from Him appearing in another form, in Matthew 24:31-46, we see that the basis of judgment was how we treat those we perceive to be less than us. Christ said, ‘Inasmuch as ye did it (acts of love) not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me’, meaning, the way we treat our neighbours is a reflection of how we will treat Jesus if He had appeared to us (1 John4: 20, 21).

Seeing the importance of this issue, how do we ensure that we respond in the best way possible when we meet someone we deem not deserving of our love? Before I give some needed keys, it’s good for me to state that the word appearance goes beyond the physical or outward look of a person or a thing, but our first (or mere) perception of what is right or wrong. We discerned this from its context of usage in John Chapter 7.

In John 5:30, we hear Jesus say that ‘as He hears He Judges‘, meaning His judgment, deciding what is right or wrong, is not based on His understanding of things, but based on the mind of the Father. The mind of the Father is accessed by the Holy Spirit, through the written and the spoken word. As we fellowship with the Holy Spirit, He will help us to know how to act in certain situations, for we do not always know who and how to love, or even what is best for us. Therefore, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit is the first key on how to make righteous judgments. Secondly, seeing Jesus in everybody will help us to express love towards all. To know this, we need to realize that every human is made in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26). This means, if God should appear to you today, He will not look different from a regular Human. This is even more true for us Christians, for we are all putting on Christ (Galatians 3.27) and we are the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. 6:19). Being conscious of this, loving others despite their outward appearance or circumstances becomes easier.

Prayer Point:

Let’s take time to ask The Lord to give the entire body of Christ the grace to make righteous judgments, and He should enable us to work in love towards all no matter their situation.

God bless you all