I guess some idioms will soon be obsolete. Those who grow up reading books on Kindles may one day not even know what judging a book by its cover means. We may have to think of a better phrase to let people know that judging one’s quality, talent, or character just by looking at a person is a mistake.
Britain’s Got Talent, the British counterpart to our American Idol, found that out when a frumpy looking 48 year-old unemployed volunteer decided to try out for the television show a few years ago. The audience was skeptical and judges rolled their eyes until Susan Boyle sang her inspiring rendition of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables. A standing ovation followed.
Our human tendency is to make evaluations based on outward appearances. We might think a man is poor because he wears raggedy clothes and drives an old car, but he could be a millionaire. Someone might look wealthy and be a big spender, but he may have maxed out credit cards and a house in foreclosure.
In today’s superficial world people tend to judge by appearance. We make wrong assumptions when we judge someone’s character by what appears on the surface. Meekness is not weakness. Sociability is not spirituality. Loquaciousness is not intellect. Using wisdom is not cowardice. Having biblical knowledge does not mean one is close to God.
The scribes and Pharisees appeared spiritual on the service, yet they judged Jesus and his disciples’ religiosity because they saw them eating without washing their hands. That was a definite no-no against their purity laws which were a big deal at the time. These laws were what the religious hierarchy used to determine one’s devotion to God. (Mark 7:1-8) They didn’t know they were criticizing the very Son of God.
Samuel would have chosen Jesse’s first born son Eliab to replace King Saul. After all, he was tall, handsome and athletic. When Samuel saw him he said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here.” (1 Samuel 16:6, 7) But God refused him because God looks on the heart, not the outward appearance. So a lowly shepherd boy name David was chosen instead.
When God wanted someone to deliver the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt he did not choose an eloquent speaker. He chose Moses who was not what you would call dynamic. In fact he was slow of speech; perhaps he even stuttered. (Exodus 4:10) Yet he was a man of God. (Deut. 33:1)
Making snap judgments based on appearances can lead to prejudice, segregation, and stereotyping. Yet, it is easier to judge quickly than to take the time to get to know people. Only through knowing people can we determine how they think or feel or where their hearts are. Only through looking beyond the surface can we discover those hidden qualities, talents, or character traits worth finding.
Avid readers know that whether you are holding a brightly covered book with appealing pictures or a Kindle with only sparse features, you will still have to read the book to see what it’s all about.
