Book Covers

The Old Testament reading at Mass today was from 1 Samuel and told of God selecting David to lead His people.

Saul failed to be a good king, so God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem to retrieve the new king from among Jesse’s sons. Samuel goes to Bethlehem as he is asked to do, but as Jesse parades out his sons, none of them is the one chosen by God. Finally Jesse admits to Samuel that his youngest son is not among those he saw since he was the runt of the litter and was out tending sheep. God told Samuel, “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” Lo, and behold, the youngest son David – the puny little brother – is brought before Samuel, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Isn’t it the truth that we tend to judge a book by its cover? I have a habit of writing the story of people’s lives in my mind even as they just stand ahead of me in a grocery store line. I figure out their socioeconomic class, determine what kind of parent they are, and form an opinion about their taste in clothes. And of course, I simply can’t believe that they are buying potato chips and frozen pizzas when they clearly should lose some weight.

My tendency to form opinions about people without knowing any of the facts about them is one of my characteristics that I work hardest at changing. I have no idea about strangers’ personal lives, and I certainly can’t look into their hearts. Why do I think I have the right to judge?

Thankfully for ALL of us, I’m not the one that makes the final judgement. In the meantime, I will work hard to remember that God made us all in his image and sent His Son to save everyone, no matter how many frozen pizzas they are buying.