Letters From Grandpa #224

LETTERS FROM GRANDPA # 224

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will deal with John 7:24 - “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgement”. This is a warning against making hasty superficial judgements. In this case, Jesus “appeared” to have violated the Sabbath but He didn’t. They had judged Him incorrectly. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk. 2:27). God gave the Sabbath to help man, not hinder him. Consequently there were many necessary things that had to be done on the Sabbath and Jesus had done nothing wrong. The point is, before hastily judging someone it is wise to consider all the facts. Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. He is “Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mk. 2:28). He can do anything He wants to on the Sabbath or any other day of the week.

The book of Proverbs states a similar truth: “The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him” (Prov. 18:17). “Fake news” is famous for only presenting one side of the story. Sadly, the nightly news is biased. Even if it wasn’t, before making a judgement we should still hear both sides of the story. “Right judgement” requires that every witness be given an opportunity to testify. Often the truth is not what it initially “appears” to be.

Jesus expressed a kindred thought when He said not to call your brother “Raca” (Matt. 5:22). Once a person is labeled they are to a certain extent dehumanized. This can lead us to prejudge a person by appearance without listening to what they have to say. David’s brothers, for example, labeled him as “conceited” and “wicked” (I Sam. 17:28). Consequently they gave him no chance to defeat Goliath. While man looks on the outward appearance, however, God looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). God had a different view of David than his brother’s did.

On today’s college campus the views of “white people” are often rejected simply because they are white. A hundred years ago it was the other way around.; Dr. George Washington Carver, for example, was rejected as a student by Highland University in Highland, Kansas simply because he was black. All such prejudice is wrong. If we are to judge rightly, we must go beyond personal appearance.

Here are some other examples from history to stimulate your thinking:

m Walt Disney was fired by the Kansas City Star in 1919 because the editor said “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas”.

m In 1867 Thomas Edison was fired by Western Union for spilling acid on the floor.

m Albert Einstein didn’t speak until he was 4 and didn’t read until he was 7. He was subsequently expelled from school and later denied admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.

m Isaac Newton was labeled by some as a “failure” when he failed at running the family farm.

E One outspoken women described Abraham Lincoln as the homeliest man she ever saw.

m Vincent van Gogh sold only one painting during his life and it was sold to a friend for only a small amount of money. His paintings now, as you know, sell for millions.

m Steven Spielberg, the famous movie producer, was rejected 3 different times by the University of California School of Theater, Film, and Television.

m Michael Jordan was once cut from his high school basketball team.

m Rudyard Kipling was fired by the San Francisco Examiner in 1889 because the editor concluded that he didn’t know how to use the English language.

m Rocket pioneer Robert Goddard was rejected by his peers for his outrageous ideas.

Henry Ford went broke 5 times before starting the Ford Motor Company.

Soichiro Honda was turned down for a job by the Toyota Motor Corp. He started making scooters at home and eventually started his own company making Honda automobiles.

Harland Sanders famous recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken was rejected 1,009 times before one restaurant finally dared to give it a try.

Books by the famous author, Dr. Seuss, were rejected by 27 different publishers.

While these examples could easily be multiplied the evidence from both the Bible and history should be sufficient to encourage us to not be hasty in evaluating anyone. Isaiah said of Jesus: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men... .” (Is. 53:2,3).

It is obviously wise to ponder all the evidence about Jesus before rejecting Him!

The same applies to everyone else too!

PLEASE DO NOT JUDGE BY APPEARANCE BUT MAKE A RIGHT JUDGEMENT! I love you,

Grandpa Boyce