Nancy Hughes: Judging by a nose

“Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”

John 7:24 (NIV)

A friend of mine remembers her first experiences as a licensed driver at age 16. Not because she had accidents or near-accidents (although I am sure there may have been some). But she remembers distinctly having to tilt her head up at an angle to see over the dashboard every time she drove. 

The reason? She was not very tall and their family car was huge. So the only way she could see clearly was to do a “nose in the air” pose.

One day at high school there were class changes and she found herself in a room with some girls she didn’t know. As they became acquainted, the girls chatted about clothes, music and getting their licenses and my friend shared her frustration at being so short that she had to constantly peek over the dashboard as she drove.

Only later did two of the girls tell her: “We always saw you driving with your nose up in the air and we thought you were a snob. You never looked at us or even waved. We want to apologize because we judged you on something silly without even knowing you or what was going on.”

I think we have all had that same thing happen at least once in our lives. Someone judged us unfairly and based their opinion on something totally wrong. But let’s take it one step further: have WE been the ones doing that judging?

How about the time we saw two people together talking and we assumed and judged a relationship that was not there. Then we shared our assumption repeatedly until it became “fact.” Or the time we overheard one comment during a conversation and built a story in our minds that had no basis in fact at all. And we shared our opinions. And people were hurt.

In John 7:24, Jesus speaks very clearly concerning making assumptions and judging. He doesn’t say “If someone judges you, judge them back.” or “Only judge when you have the facts.” No, He leaves no doubt in what we should do when He says “Stop judging by mere appearance.” Stop it. Don’t do it. Period.

Why not simply lift up that person in prayer and say “Father, I am not sure if there is something going on in her life but I AM sure that you know.” There is only one outcome for judging and jumping to conclusions: missing the target and landing face down in a heap of embarrassment and regret. God’s job is to judge. Our job is to pray. Even when it comes to a nose pose.

Father, forgive me for those times when I have assumed and judged someone instead of praying. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever had a rumor told about you that was based on a completely wrong assumption?

• Have you ever judged someone because you made an incorrect assumption about a situation?

Apply

• The next time you are tempted to assume and judge a situation by what you have seen, stop and put yourself in that person’s place immediately.

• Then lift them up to the Lord and thank Him for being in control of all things.

Power

• John 7:24 (NIV) “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”

• James 5:9 (NIV) “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”

• Luke 6:31 (NIV) “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)