“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
- John 7:24 ESV
I’ve been hearing my human say something lately.
“Be curious, not judgmental.”
Apparently, that became famous because of some television soccer coach named Ted Lasso.
I don’t know Ted.
And I don’t understand soccer.
Twenty-two people running around chasing a ball nobody is allowed to pick up?
Frankly, I could fix that game.
Give me the ball.
But that’s another discussion for another day.
Dogs are naturally curious.
We sniff things.
Everything.
A new person walks into the house, and I don’t immediately decide whether they’re good or bad based on their clothes, car, or haircut.
Nope.
I gather information.
I sniff.
My human calls that embarrassing.
I call it research.
Humans, however, can look at somebody for three seconds and have their whole life figured out.
How they dress.
What they drive.
What they posted online.
And before long, you’ve written a story about someone you’ve never bothered to know.
Jesus had something to say about that.
“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Jesus knew what it was like to be judged by appearances.
Some saw a carpenter’s son.
Others saw a troublemaker.
Some thought He spent entirely too much time with sinners.
But Jesus saw people differently.
Where others saw a sinful woman, Jesus saw someone who needed grace.
Where others saw Zacchaeus, a crooked tax collector, Jesus saw a man worth visiting.
Jesus was never afraid to get close enough to know someone’s story.
Sometimes we’re quick to form opinions about people whose stories we’ve never heard.
The person dressed differently.
The neighbor who keeps to themselves.
The person whose opinions don’t match ours.
Sometimes we judge people simply because they make us uncomfortable.
I understand that.
Sometimes when somebody I don’t know comes around, I bark.
Not because they’re dangerous.
Sometimes they’re just unfamiliar.
There’s a difference.
Unfamiliar doesn’t automatically mean wrong.
And not understanding someone doesn’t give us permission to condemn them.
Ask before forming an opinion.
Listen before lecturing.
Learn the story before deciding how it ends.
Now, that doesn’t mean curiosity requires us to compromise truth.
Jesus certainly didn’t.
He was full of grace and truth.
Grace doesn’t mean approval.
And truth was never meant to be used as a weapon.
Jesus loved people enough to meet them where they were, but too much to leave them there.
And that’s where this gets uncomfortable.
When I judge someone, am I truly concerned about their heart?
Or do I simply enjoy feeling that I’m doing better than they are?
Am I speaking truth because I love them?
Or because being right feels good?
It’s easier to notice the mess in someone else’s life than to invite Jesus to examine our own.
Ouch.
That one stepped on my paw.
The person I’m tempted to judge needs grace.
So do I.
Before examining their heart, maybe I should ask Jesus to search mine.
Who have I already labeled?
Whose story have I decided I understand?
Who have I dismissed without listening?
Jesus never asked us to compromise truth.
But He commanded us to love.
And love requires humility.
So perhaps the next time I encounter someone I don’t understand, I don’t need to immediately decide what I think about them.
Maybe I need to become curious.
What is their story?
What have they been through?
What am I missing?
And before I reach a conclusion, perhaps I should remember how much grace it took for Jesus to understand me, love me, and patiently change me.
Curiosity doesn’t require me to abandon truth.
It simply reminds me that I don’t know everything.
And judgment becomes much harder when humility gets involved.
So today, before you bark, pause.
Ask.
Listen.
Learn.
Leave room for grace.
Before you decide who someone is, take the time to learn who they are.
Be curious.
Listen longer.
Assume less.
And leave the final judgment where it belongs.
With Jesus.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
