Judgment Day

There is an old saying that almost every one has heard, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Meaning that you cannot tell what something is like based solely on appearances. We have heard this before, but do we take it seriously? I know I have judged people too quickly sometimes or judged them wrongly and have felt bad about it later. It is common nature to judge too quickly and to make assumptions about situations or people before one even knows them. What we are missing is tolerance. Some may say we are missing acceptance, but one need not accept something as long as they are able to aptly tolerate it. There is a story about Jesus meeting a woman at Jacob's well that fits well with this practice.

Jesus sat down by Jacob's well in Sychar where he encountered a Samaritan woman getting water from the well. Knowing full well of her sins and the woman's standing in her town, Jesus spoke to her anyway. Maybe even bigger than that was the fact that he was a Jew and she a Samaritan. In the process of speaking to her, Jesus reveals to her that he is the Messiah and if she drinks his water, she will never be thirsty again. Jesus accepted this woman for who she was, he did not reject for who he thought her to be, and in this case knew her to be before their encounter.

I believe that people pass judgment because it is easy. It can be hard to make an effort to try understand all points of view, all ways of life, and all decisions, but if more people did that, there may not be so much hate in this world. There are always going to be disagreements because all humans are different. I think we were all made different by God so that we could practice these habits in life. We don't always have to be right, or understand everything that happens, but making that effort is what makes the difference.

Another major part of my life is teaching social studies. The main focus in social studies is practicing good democratic values such as: tolerance, valid arguments, open mindedness, and others that go along those same lines. Looking at our democracy today, I do not see those values being emitted by the ones who it should be coming from. It is no wonder that this world still has not found the solution. There is no leader big enough and strong enough to preach these values... but wait, there is. Some people are just not listening.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28