Christian

Don’t Judge by Appearances

Cindy Dawson

In 1884 a young man died and after the funeral his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him.  With that in mind they met with Dr. Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University.  Dr. Eliot received the modestly dressed couple into his office and asked how he could help them.

After they expressed their desire to fund a memorial to honor their son, Dr. Eliot impatiently said, “You know, I don’t have much time today, what would you like to give?  Perhaps a partial scholarship?’  The woman replied, “We are thinking of something more substantial than that.  Is it possible to maybe build a building for our son?”

In a patronizing tone, Dr. Eliot indicated the idea was probably a bit too expensive and he asked them to consider giving a scholarship in their son’s name and come back to see him next week when he had more time.  Dr. Eliot never saw them again.

One year later Dr. Eliot learned that this quiet, unassuming couple who were wanting to honor the memory of their son had gone out to California and established a $26 million dollar memorial named after their son.  Then it was called Leland Stanford Junior University.  Today it is simply called Stanford.

We all know the saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Perhaps truer words were never spoken. As you can see from the story above, that can be a huge mistake!

Yet perhaps we do it more than we think we do. My sister used to work for a home builder. People would come in and tour beautiful model homes. She told me that some of the wealthiest people looked the most ordinary. You couldn’t tell by appearances who could afford these extravagant homes.

Jesus says in John 7:24: “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

Only God knows the heart of a person.  Only God knows their motivations.

Assumptions can be dangerous.  Jesus is warning us to beware of making assumptions about other people.

(This post was inspired by a post by Bruce Cooper in Reasoned Cases for Christ which you can read here.)

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

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25 thoughts on “Don’t Judge by Appearances”

  1. What a beautiful and very valuable post indeed Cindy! The story you share certainly made me smile, and reminded me of times such has happened to me. One example was when we went to a dealership to buy a car, and the salesman assumed we would be seeking credit…then I produced an envelope with our hard saved cash! As we know from God’s Word it is the heart of individuals that matter the most.
    “I, the LORD, search the heart,
    I test the mind,
    Even to give to each man according to his ways,
    According to the results of his deeds.
    — Jeremiah 17:10
    God bless you richly today sister 🙏

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      1. Yes he did get a bit flustered lol 😆 It was fun for us to sit and watch him count and recount the money, then have a colleague check it again. It is amazing how nice he was after that.

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  3. Cindy, thank you for this beautiful and wise post! It’s so true! God, thank you for not judging us by our “covers”—we don’t know a person’s heart and intentions by appearance. Praise God! I have a story I’ll have to share with you sometime. God bless you…and Henry, too. Much love my friend. Karla and Finn 🐾💕

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  4. I liked this story so much I read it twice! Dr. Charles Eliot sure had his attitude adjusted. Our mayor did something like Eliot. A former resident of our city wanted to contribute to our ailing community by building a factory that would manufacture televisions and create much needed jobs. The mayor blew him off time and again. The businessman built the company in one of the Carolinas. 🙂

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  5. Thank you for sharing ….

    Jesus’ words in John 7:24 resonate profoundly, urging us to see others with the same fairness and compassion that God extends to us. Only God truly knows the heart and motivations of individuals, emphasizing the need for humility and openness in our judgments.

    This story challenges us to reexamine how we perceive others and encourages us to embrace a more compassionate and discerning approach in our interactions.

    Thank you again for sharing this valuable reminder.

    May the Lord Bless You Today and Always …

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    1. Thank you, Willie. The Bible has a lot to say about judging that wasn’t included in the post. But you’re right. The story challenges us not to make the mistake of judging someone by their appearance. God bless you today, Willie!

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  6. What a good reminder about not judging people by outward appearances. And it’s not just outward appearances that can fool us but also other things like actions or attitudes we see in others that we don’t understand. I also have felt like over the years that some people look at me a little differently because of my southern accent. Anyway, I need to be careful not to assume what they’re thinking about me just as I need to be careful of what I’m assuming about them. 🙂

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  8. I want to thank you for this.. I was searching for comfort after reading a well meaning post about Mexico and found the comments and post to be … a subtle form of racism.. not because it was mean but because it was very patronizing… full of one sided stereotypes.. just hurting.. I know Jesus loves me. I know I’m not alone. He walks with me and talks with me.. just feel the need for support.. will u pray for me?

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    1. Yes, Kimberly, I will pray for you. I rejoice that you know Jesus! He does love you, very much.
      This is one of my favorite verses and I pray it will comfort you.
      2 Corinthians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
      God bless you today, Kimberly!

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