Last Updated on March 20, 2018
What is your reaction when the line at the grocery store is held up by one person who needs a price check? Or how do you treat that woman with the baggy sweatpants, greasy hair and t-shirt with holes? Are you annoyed by the too-young mom speaking harshly to her toddler? Have you been tempted to call the discipline police when an 8-year-old is throwing a toddler tantrum and the parent doesn’t seem to notice?
Too often, I’ve rolled my eyes, patted myself on the back for my well-behaved (at that moment) children, quickly thrown out my holey t-shirts and stalked the check-out lanes to avoid the couponer who is wanting every price matched (and yes, I’ve been that person, too). I have run from the tattoos and overgrown facial hair. I chose to assume the worst about that person. But as I’ve grown older and ventured more out of my comfort zone, my eyesight has changed.
I’ve asked for a new set of eyes: Jesus’ eyes. Eyes that see the heartache and share it instead of protecting my heart in cold bubble-wrap. Viewing my trust in God to help me through the pain of rejection when my offer to help is denied or when letting go hurts. Realizing that my idea of normal is man-made, not God’s idea. Suddenly, many of the decisions I need to make day-to-day seem so clear, less foggy.
I see a wife trying to stretch every penny since her husband has been laid off. I see the single mom struggling to clothe her children while working two jobs. I see an autistic child trying to communicate and a weary mother just wanting to get her grocery shopping completed. I have realized that I have been judgmental in my sheltered little bubble. I have been fearful to ask if I can help, afraid that my heart will break at the reality of the world around me.
When I look at the soul of a person instead of the body, I choose to focus how I can serve instead of how I’ll be inconvenienced. I’m seeing that person through Jesus’ eyes, with love.
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Julia,
Thank you for the reminder to see others as God see us, not to judge, but to love. Not an easy thing to do, and only with Him is this possible!
Susan
Julia,
I truly believe God’s love is infinite. Before I became a stay-at-home dad I was child abuse investigator as a social worker and I have seen some of the worst of humanity and some of the best of the best of humanity. One thing though never failed to amaze me, as a social worker, was the resilience of the children. I often wondered how so many of the children I worked with could laugh and still love non-judgmentally and it was those children who taught me to do the same with all people. Don’t get me wrong I had a job to do back then and i would protect a child (as i am still legally obligated to know but I never judge)
Children see the world through simple eyes. They aren’t clouded by human error and things that man/woman have deemed worthy of judging. When I hear the song “Jesus Loves The Little Children” I believe the words because those children have something that adults forget in adulthood that I wish we could all experience again….simplicity.
I use my blog to promote fatherhood because I believe men need that a lot in today’s world. I write with humor (I also write on the serious side with a touch of humor) about things I have done and things I have seen because I want my son to grow up knowing to continue to laugh at yourself and everything we do.
recently wrote about those tattoo’s you mention because I am one of those dads that has a few (you would never know it unless I told you though) As I have gotten older and wiser I have learned that if people want to judge me because I “might” have a tattoo it truly is their loss because I know God loves me and I love myself. These are the things I want my son to learn to take forth into the world and make life a better place because I do make blunders…..but it’s what i choose to do with the blunder’s I make that makes all the difference in the world.
Aaron
I find that when my kids are having a hard time because someone was mean to them I remind them we don’t know what they are going through. I hope in the process they are learning to see others as Christ sees them and offer grace 🙂