Beyond Skin Deep...

The girl with the smile plastered on her face seems to have it all together. She's calm and collected. However, there is a battle raging on the inside and she is secretly fighting back tears wrought from a broken home life. She bites her lip slightly to keep her eyes from watering; to keep from giving in to the tears and puts that smile back on her face even though she doesn't feel like it. As people pass by, they see her and think they see a girl who must have a wonderful life and is just so happy she smiles almost all the time. Only those who really know her know that she smiles to hide the pain and the questions and the stares that would come with letting her true emotions show. 

That is just one scenario showing how quick we are to judge others based on just appearances. We may spout off that we don't judge people, but we do. And it starts with that first look. The first time we glance at a person we make some sort of judgment about them based on what we see. When we see someone full of tattoos and piercings we think wow that must be a troubled person. Those types of people could actually be more put together than the pretty blonde with lots of friends. Yes we judge, but as Christians we need to stop our judgment in its tracks instead of letting it take us down a very dangerous street. Judging is one thing; we all do it. However, letting the judgment grow where we start to stereotype the person is another things. We need to remember that while we look at the outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart as it says in 1 Samuel 16:7. Certainly "The Lord does not look at things man looks at" as it states earlier in that same verse. We are so quick to judge by appearances and let that judgment become full-grown to where we might reject the person if they don't fit into our plan of the types of people we should talk to. However, God has called us to tell everyone the good news and to show love to everyone, not just the people we think fit into our group. We have to remember God died for the person with the piercings and the tattoos all over their body too. He didn't just die for us- somewhat "perfect" Christians who are unblemished on the outside. No one is unblemished on the inside though- we all sin and that sin leads to death without Jesus. Through the one who can truly peer into the heart and beyond our skin comes salvation and true healing. 

Next time you start to judge someone based on what you see just remember that there is so much more than meets the eye. The Lord knows the heart of each and every person, while we do not. We only see the outside, but we need to look through the appearance of a person and try to see them the way Jesus sees them. Someone He loved so much, He died for them. Not just a person with a pretty face or a messed up face, but someone who has hopes, dreams, and fears. Someone who is searching for someone to love them. Will you show them that unconditional love only found in Jesus? Are you willing to look beyond skin deep?