Reserving Judgment

Early in my technology career in marketing support, I was at the end of a long day of computer demonstrations at a General Motors plant in Michigan.

I’d found the facility’s immensity impressive—we’d been transported by vehicle from one part of the building to another. Our driver zipped past showers of sparks and gigantic manufacturing machinery stamping out car roofs from sheets of metal.

But I’d been relegated to a dingy cell far from sunlight or fresh air. Hours after the formal demos were over and our sales executive had left, an older, kind of dumpy-looking fellow ambled into the almost empty room.

Have you ever noticed how people size each other up with a glance?

Sometimes you can feel their eyes scan you from head to toe in just milliseconds, culminating in an expression of approval or perhaps a dismissive look, as if to say, “You’re of no importance.”

Their silent evaluations might include, “It’s just a kid,” or “It’s only some old person,” or, with a subtle nose lift, “We can’t all have a sense for fashion, can we?”

The fellow peering at my computer was neither young nor well-dressed. When I asked him what work he did there, he quietly replied, “Just an operator.” Assured I wasn’t dealing with a decision-maker, I took a decidedly more casual approach to my demo. I still courteously went through it, although with comparitively tired enthusiasm.

After he’d left, a GM employee lingering in the room questioned me, “Do you know who that was?” I answered, “Said he was just an operator.” Imagine my surprise when the worker informed me I had just done a demo for the director of the entire plant!

Although greatly relieved I had shown him no disrespect, I knew I had not put on the high-energy show I’d have offered had I known he was plant director.

Sometimes people are not as they appear!

We sort people into categories and jump to conclusions based on their dress, physical characteristics, or the sound of their voices. Sometimes we’ll discount someone simply based on where they live or where they’re from!

That’s nothing new; Nathanael similarly prejudged Jesus with his quip to Philip in John 1:46

‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’

James 2:2-4 warns us against making preferential distinctions based on dress. While many churches have adopted a much more casual come-as-you-are dress code, in many places dressing up is the expected norm. An uninitiated visitor could be caught unawares, attracting unwelcome stares from the delicate and dapper congregants.

Scripture reminds us that while we look at outward appearance, God looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

The Bible also tells us God is not partial (Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11). He wants us to see people as people, His unique and beloved creations, each one worthy of Jesus’s life.

That person you’re tempted to ignore may be more important than you think!