There it sits innocently.
My mouth is watering as I steal another glance at a juicy red apple on
the cutting board. All I can think about
is how sweet and delicious that fruit will taste when I finally bite into
it. I consider just snatching the apple
up right then and there, listening to what my taste buds are screaming at me to
do, and biting into it rather than wasting time with the cutting board and
knife. It is so tempting. Yet I make myself wash the apple and slice it
up all properly. “Patience
is a virtue” I remind myself, that
and the fact that I am a messy eater and would more than likely end up with apple juice
all over my face. So, I eagerly cut the
apple in half.
The
first thing I’m struck with is the sinking feeling of disappointment. The apple is rotten to the core; all but a
few centimeters of the outside edge is brown.
I cut the apple halves into fourths, hoping that it’s just a section of
the apple that is bad. Disappointment
again, the whole thing is no good. I
briefly think that I might be able to salvage the outer edge of the fruit. Upon second glance I know that is a hopeless
cause. Even if I cut away the bad, the
minuscule bit of apple remaining would have a tainted flavor of sickly sweet
rotten fruit. Taking the trouble to cut
all that rotten away would leave you with pitiful, ugly scraps of fruit that
bear more semblance to an apple that had a run-in with a lawnmower. I deem the fruit unfit for consumption and
throw it in the compost bucket. I’m
still craving some sliced apple, and dealing with my regret at not buying more
than one at the store. I stare at the
bad apple in the compost, shudder, and think to myself, “Blimey, I sure am glad I didn't just bite into that!”
You can’t tell sometimes if a fruit
is rotten. With my apple; it was not
squishy or bruised, it was still shiny and perfect looking on the outside, and
it even smelled good. Looks can be
deceiving. The last time I ate a bite of
fruit gone bad, it was an overripe peach that left an aftertaste of dirt in my
mouth. It was hard for me to eat a peach
after that, all I could think of every time I saw one was that horrible taste
of fermented peach and dirt. I didn't
cut into that peach either, just went and took a big bite of it thinking it was
perfectly ripe.
See, being hasty and making
judgments based off appearances is dangerous.
It’s not wise to do it with fruit, and it’s not wise to do with
people. What at first glance may look like a great deal, a wonderful
person, or a scrumptious piece of fruit may in fact be pleasing on the surface,
but have ugliness and rotten beneath all that grandeur. Take your time getting to know people before
you judge them. A Coconut has a tough
exterior and doesn't necessarily look yummy on the outside with all that
stringy brown stuff, but it’s the delicious white meat on the inside (that you
have to work really hard to get at) that makes the Coconut beloved by so
many. Sugarcane looks like freakishly tall
grass, a lot of people wouldn't even know it to look at it, yet who doesn't like sugar? Sugar is in almost everything! A Geode looks like a lumpy gray rock, but when
you break it in half, inside there is a spectacular cluster of beautiful
crystals.
How often have you looked at
someone in passing and thought?
“They must be super rich, look at those fancy
clothes they’re wearing.”
“What’s a hooker
doing in a place like this?”
“Man, I hate how arrogant those
football jock types are all the time, acting like they’re so important.”
“Yup, that one’s definitely emo.”
“He looks like he’s on drugs.”
“I bet that guy’s not really
homeless, he’s just looking for sympathy and some free food and cash.”
“She must be a rebellious type
with that spiky green hair, tattoos, and piercings.”
“Whoa buddy, lay off the Big Mac’s
already, haven’t you got a lick of self-control?”
“Little miss perfect alert!”
The Bible talks about judging people a lot!
Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment. John 7:24
Brothers, do not slander one
another. Anyone who speaks against his
brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping
it, but sitting in judgment on it. There
is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your
neighbor? James 4:11-12
Do not judge, or you too will be
judged. For in the same way you judge
others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured
to you. Matthew 7:1-2
For by the grace given me I say
to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but
rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of
faith God has given you. Romans
12:3
…Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the
Lord of both the dead and the living.
You, then, why do you judge your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment
seat. It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every
knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.” So then, each of us will give an account of
himself to God. Therefore let us stop
passing judgment on one another.
Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in
your brother’s way. Romans
14:9b-13
As for those who seemed to be important - whatever they were
makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance. Galatians 2:6
It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed
time; wait till the Lord comes. He will
bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s
hearts. At that time each will receive
his praise from God. 1
Corinthians 4:4b-5
Do not pervert justice; do not
show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor
fairly. Leviticus 19:15
Judge me, O Lord, according to my
righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. Psalm 7:8
Speak up for those who cannot
speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights
of the poor and needy. Proverbs
31:8-9
A
while back I brought Guacamole to a Children’s Church Club as part of their
snack for the day. I normally bring
fruit, crackers, and some cookies for the kid’s snack; but that day I decided
to try something new. I gave them their
fruit and crackers and cookie, but then I whipped out a bag of chips and a
small bowl of Guacamole. As soon as the
kids laid eyes on the green stuff in the bowl and heard what it was, they made
faces and loudly exclaimed that they would have none of that. See, I knew that this would happen and I had
a plan to get them to try something new.
I put down my bag of chips and bowl of Guacamole, reached into my back
pocket and pulled out a pack of gum, holding it aloft for them all to see. I wave it back and forth a bit to get their
attention, and tell them that if they would try at least one chip with a bit of
Guacamole on it, they would get a piece of gum.
To my surprise almost all the kids’ hands went up and there were shouts
of, “I’ll try it!” and “Me! Me!” and “I
want some!” Going around and watching
them try this new food; I saw expressions change from suspicion and fear to
surprise, relief, and delight. “Wow,
that’s actually yummy!” “I like
it!” “Can I have more?” “Can you bring more next time?” When I left that evening, with a near gone
pack of gum and an empty bowl of guacamole, I was grinning like an idiot the
whole drive home.
No
I am not endorsing bribery, merely trying to illustrate the concept of hasty
judgment and how it is a foolish thing.
It takes years sometimes to get to know a person well enough to know who
they are underneath that outer shell, that mask they wear in public. Sometimes you’ll be surprised that the most
delicious food is often unattractive. I've found that some of the dustiest, oldest, water stained, weathered book covers
can hold priceless stories in their pages.
Your teacher who is always so nice at school, gossips about how
irritating children are to her friends. You
see a pregnant teenage girl, and you think she has no self-control, you judge
her for getting pregnant so young. If
you’d just care to find out, she’d tell you she’d been raped but that she didn't agree with abortion and was giving the baby up for adoption. The handsome gentleman, who paid for your
coffee at Starbucks and was flirting with you asking when he could meet you
again, has a wife and kids at home. The
old lady who you see at the store, taking forever to pay for her groceries and
haggling over the price of two day old bread, while there is a growing line of
impatient people behind her. People
think she’s annoying and maybe a little crazy, they’d never know she was a
nurse in Germany during WWII and saved countless lives. Take your time, be patient, slow down, walk a
mile in their shoes, check your thoughts, and think things through before you
act on them.
I
find it fascinating how you can learn lessons about people from an apple. Sometimes the lessons you try to teach, the
wisdom you wish to pass on, the advice you want to have someone pay heed too -
can come to fruition by a simple parable. If I have offended in any way, I deeply
apologize, that was not my intent. I
haven’t written all this with anyone particular in mind, I’m not trying to
point out someone’s faults, or to shame somebody. I just stood in my kitchen, staring at that
deceptive apple in the compost bucket, and I was reminded of the similarities
between that apple and judging by appearances.
I usually keep these little lessons I learn to myself; the time I
learned about parenting from raising my ducks, how Lemmings and people have
more similarities I originally thought, etc.
This apple just wouldn't get out of my mind, so here it is!
