Don't Judge Me

As the old cliche goes, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Have you ever judged someone before you knew them? Perhaps it’s that waitress whose work is seemingly a little sloppy or lazy and you write her off as a poor worker. Maybe it is the kid who comes onto the city bus decked out in black clothes and long hair, and you write him off as someone you wouldn’t want to get to know. There are numerous other situations that could be used; but you know you have judged someone before you knew them at some point in your life.

There is a similar incident that occurs in scripture in Joshua 22 beginning in verse 10. In this text we find the people of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh have returned to their home after conquering the rest of Canaan. Their home is on the east side of the Jordan River. When these tribes arrive at the river, they build a large altar as a memorial. It was to help the generations after them to understand that all the children of Israel, those on the east and west side, belong to the same Lord and God (Joshua 22:26-28). 

Despite the good intentions of these tribes, they were misunderstood. All of Israel heard that they had built this altar and assumed it was an act of rebellion against God. Israel gathers up themselves to make war against these alleged rebellious brothers. When Israel arrives at the Jordan River and meet the other tribes. They confront them and accuse them of rebellion. Israel soon finds out that their assumption were false. 

In contrast, we so often don’t ever find out if our assumptions are true or not. That one person, we judge before we know them, may be the one person who could have the greatest impact on our physical lives or even our spiritual lives. I encourage us all to work on not judging people before we get to know them.