I’ll never forget what has become one of my all-time favorite TV commercials, shown during Super Bowl 39 over 12 years ago (February 6, 2005). The Ameriquest Mortgage Company sponsored the commercial, and it came with a powerful message. Take a look… (show Americaquest Cat Commercial video)
A man is preparing a romantic dinner. He chops vegetables with a large knife, while tomato sauce simmers on the stove. A white cat knocks the pan of sauce onto the floor and then falls into the mess. Just as the man picks up his tomato-splattered cat, his wife opens the door. She sees him holding a cat dripping with red sauce in one hand and a large knife in the other.
Then the message, “Don’t judge too quickly” flashes on the screen. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZL2oi0_Pg8)
Don’t judge too quickly; for when you do, you can assume the worst when the best is intended. Sometimes, in your pain, you can make snap judgments, which you later regret. This is an issue that James addresses in his book, which is about passing the tests of life. So if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to James 2, James 2, which describes what happens when you judge too quickly.
James 2:1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. (ESV)
The word for “partiality” comes from two Greek words: one which means “face”; and the other which means “take”. So literally, the Bible says…
DON’T TAKE PEOPLE AT FACE VALUE.
Don’t judge a person by what you see on the surface. In other words, don’t judge too quickly. Or don’t pre-judge before you have a chance to really get to know someone below the surface.
This is especially important for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory! You see, on the surface, He wasn’t much to look at. Isaiah says, “He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by man; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:2-3).
Jesus was rejected by many, but His rejection became our salvation! Isaiah 53 goes on to say, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5). Jesus took the punishment for our sins on the cross, but soon after that He arose from the dead, demonstrating beyond a shadow of doubt that He is the Lord of Glory!
Many people judged Him too quickly; and as a result, they ended up rejecting the Lord Himself! But not you! You trusted Jesus with your life, and now you are getting to know Him for who He really is, whom to know is life eternal!
You did not take Jesus at face value. So don’t take others at face value either. Don’t judge too quickly.
A recent study by a couple of researchers at the University of Toronto and at James Madison University in Virginia demonstrates our tendency to do just that, to judge people simply by what we see on the surface.
Jonah Lehrer, one of the researchers says we all have what he calls “bias blind spots” no matter how smart we think we are. In fact, his research found that “a larger bias blind spot was associated with higher cognitive ability.” That’s because there's a mismatch between how we evaluate others and how we evaluate ourselves. Lehrer writes:
When considering the irrational choices of a stranger, for instance, we are forced to rely on [how they behave]; we see their biases from the outside, which allows us to glimpse their [errors]. However, when assessing our own bad choices, we tend to engage in elaborate introspection. We [study] our motivations and search for relevant reasons; we lament our mistakes to therapists and ruminate on the beliefs that led us astray.
For example, if we drive crazy through traffic it's because we have an important meeting or we don't do it that often, and so forth. But if someone else cuts us off in traffic there's one simple, observable explanation: he's a jerk. Lehrer concludes “[our bias blind spots] are largely unconscious, which means they remain invisible to self-analysis and [resistant] to intelligence.” In other words, being smarter won't help you see your own junk. As a matter of fact, more intelligence may actually add to the problem. (“Cognitive Sophistication Does Not Attenuate the Bias Blind Spot,” Journal of Sociology and Personal Psychology, September 2012, 103(3), pp.506-519, as cited by Craig Gross, Open, Thomas Nelson, 2013, pp. 139-141; www.PreachingToday.com)
I find that very interesting, because in our sophisticated society, people like to think that they have very little (or no) prejudice at all, when in fact they may tend to prejudge people even more.
That’s the way of the world, but God calls followers of Christ to “keep [themselves] unstained from the world” (James 1:27). Unlike the world, we who trust the Glorious Lord Jesus Christ with our lives, should demonstrate a different attitude. So don’t take people at face value, and…
DON’T BE A STUPID JUDGE.
Don’t be a foolish critic. Don’t be dumb in your evaluation of others. You see, when you judge too quickly, your judgment is usually wrong.
James 2:2-4 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (ESV)
You have judged the poor man less worthy of your attention than the rich man, because you have taken each man at face value and have evaluated them based solely on their outward appearance. The word for “poor man” in the original Greek describes “one who crouches and cowers like a beggar.” He doesn’t look like he’d be much of an asset compared to the man dressed in an expensive Armani suit with a gold Rolex watch. After all, that well-dressed man might put more money in the offering plate; whereas, the poor man might be a drain on the church’s resources.
That’s the judgment based on a person’s outward appearance, and that’s how people usually “see” things. The Bible says, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). You see, God has a totally different assessment, because He looks below the surface to the heart of an individual.
And God sees that the poor are often rich in what really counts.
James 2:5-6a Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. (ESV)
You have dishonored the poor, who are rich in faith. And they are rich in faith, because they know they cannot depend on themselves, so they have learned to depend on the Lord. As a result, they are heirs of the kingdom! They have an inheritance in heaven that will last forever. The real asset to the church is the poor man rich in faith!
We saw this recently demonstrated after the bombing (May 22, 2017) at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. While many of her wealthy patrons were fleeing the arena, two homeless men stayed to help those who were hurt. For Chris Parker, a 33-year-old homeless man, the arena’s entrance seemed like a good place to beg for money. Stephen Jones, another homeless man, had found a spot nearby to sleep.
Mr. Parker, 33, was panhandling when the bomb exploded, according to local news reports. The force of the blast knocked him to the floor, but he was unfazed. Rather than running for safety, he went to the aid of victims, comforting a girl who had lost her legs, wrapping her in a T-shirt, and cradling a dying woman in his arms.
Mr. Jones, 35, pulled shrapnel out of children’s arms and faces. “Just because I am homeless doesn’t mean I haven’t got a heart,” he told a local news agency (ITV News). “I’d like to think someone would come and help me if I needed the help,” he said, adding that he had been overcome by an “instinct” to pitch in. (Dan Bilefsky, “They Went to Machester Arena as Homeless Men. They Left as Heroes,” The New York Times, 5-24-2017; www.PreachingToday.com)
The poor can be a whole lot more sensitive to the needs of those around them. That’s why their “instinct”, their heart, is to “pitch in”, to help in whatever ways they can. That’s faith at work, and God sees that the poor are often rich in that kind of faith.
On the other hand, God also sees that the rich are often poor in what really counts. The wealthy are often lacking in things like faith and compassion.
James 2:6b-7 Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? (ESV)
The church, over the years, has experienced more trouble from rich people than from poor people. It is the rich who have tried to dominate and control the church. It is the rich who have sued the church more than the poor, and it is the rich who slander Jesus’ name. They are the ones who give Christianity a bad name, if not by their words, then certainly by their actions. Just think of those wealthy TV preachers, who live in mansions while taking money from poor widows, who can’t afford to fix their own homes.
The rich have caused far more trouble for the church than the poor over the years. And yet, churches often cater to the rich and ignore the poor. By taking people at face value, they have judged wrongly to their own hurt.
A 2012 Boston Globe article asked the following question: Does money change you? The article said that “most people are convinced that gaining a lot of money… wouldn't change who they are as people.” But studies show exactly the opposite.
A mounting body of research is showing that wealth can actually change how we think and behave – and not for the better. Rich people have a harder time connecting with others, showing less empathy to the extent of dehumanizing those who are different from them. They are less charitable and generous. They are less likely to help someone in trouble. And they are more likely to defend an unfair status quo… Money, in other words, changes who you are.
Kathleen Vohs, a professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, along with her colleagues, have found that even the mere suggestion of getting more money makes people less friendly, less sensitive to others, and more likely to support statements like “some groups of people are simply inferior to others.”
Researches from the University of California at Berkley, based on a number of studies, have concluded that wealthier people tend to be less compassionate towards others in a bad situation than people from lower-class backgrounds.
The Boston Globe article noted that “if you win the lottery and you want to avoid becoming an insensitive lout,” there is a simple solution. “Give at least half the money away.” (Britt Petterson, “Why it matters that our politicians are rich,” Boston Globe, 2-19-12; www.PreachingToday.com)
Now, that is not to say that all rich people are bad, and all poor people are good, no! It’s just a reminder to look beyond the surface. Don’t judge people too quickly. Don’t take people at face value and so become a stupid judge. Finally…
DON’T BECOME A JUDGED SINNER.
Don’t become a convicted transgressor of God’s Law by judging people too quickly.
James 2:8-9 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (ESV)
God’s Law is summarized in two commands: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40).
The law of love is the “royal law”, the king of all laws, and judging people too quickly breaks that law! When you don’t take the time to really know someone before you form an opinion of them, you violate the law of love.
In fact, taking people at face value breaks the entire law!
James 2:10-11 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. (ESV)
The law is a boundary line, and it doesn’t matter where you cross that line. Whether you cross the line at murder or adultery doesn’t matter. Even if you cross the line at pre-judging someone, you are just as guilty as if you had murdered someone or committed adultery. That’s how serious God takes it!
Judging people too quickly breaks the law of love. In fact, it breaks the entire law, so don’t do it!
Instead, learn to show mercy, not judgment. Demonstrate compassion, not a critical spirit.
James 2:12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. (ESV)
The law of liberty is the law of love. For when you truly love someone, it sets you free to serve them, not to judge them.
James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (ESV)
When you show mercy, mercy is shown to you. But when you judge too quickly, you are judged without mercy. So show mercy. Demonstrate compassion. Express the kind of love which gets below the surface and takes the time to really know someone.
For when you do, you will no longer see the need to judge. Such “mercy triumphs over judgment”, and sets you free to love even more. That’s what faith in Christ is all about! When you truly trust Him, you will love others as He loved you, unconditionally and without judgment.
And it’s that kind of love that captured the attention of the ancient world, according to the historian Rodney Stark. The pagan world of Christ’s day regarded mercy as a character defect, because it was contrary to justice. Mercy involved providing unearned help, so the ancient philosophers urged people “to curb the impulse.” They argued that “[showing mercy] was a defect of character unworthy of the wise and excusable only in those who have not yet grown up.” (Rodney Stark, The Triumph of Christianity, HarperOne, 2012, page 112; www.PreachingToday.com)
Jesus taught the exact opposite. He told His followers to love one another as He loved them. In fact, He told His followers to love their enemies.
It was countercultural, but such love changed the world. In the middle of the 2nd Century (A.D. 165-180), most people fled the Black Plague in ancient Rome, leaving the sick and dying behind. The Christians, on the other hand, remained behind at great risk to themselves. When everybody else ran, they stayed to care for the sick and dying. They showed mercy, and their mercy triumphed over judgement. After decades of persecution, Christianity began to be revered in the Roman Empire, so much so that less than 150 years later (A.D. 313), the Roman emperor himself became a Christian and sought to Christianize the entire empire.
So don’t be quick to judge. Don’t take people at face value and so become a stupid judge and a judged sinner.
Instead, be quick to love even those you might prejudge as unworthy. Be quick to show mercy as God showed you mercy. Then watch that mercy triumph over judgement in your world.
Just this last Thanksgiving (2016), Wanda Dench texted a number that had been her grandson’s, inviting him over for a Thanksgiving meal. The only problem was her grandson forgot to notify his grandmother that he had changed his cell phone number. So instead of texting her grandson, Wanda Dench’s text went to 17-year-old Jamal Hinton.
The two figured out the mistake quickly, but Hinton asked if it was possible to “still get a plate.”
In grandmotherly fashion, Dench responded, “Of course you can. That's what grandmas do.”
When asked about the encounter after Thanksgiving, Hinton said, “I'm thankful for all the nice people in the world. I never met her… and she welcomed me into her house, so that shows me how great of a person she is.” (“Woman Shares Thanksgiving with Teen She Accidentally Invited,” Yahoo News, 11-25-16; www. PreachingToday.com)
May that be said of the church, because showing love is what Christians do!
