Look Deeper

Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.

Standing just inside the classroom door on the first day of school, Savannah hesitated as she looked around the classroom.

“Sit here,” Allison said, catching her eye and motioning to the empty desk next to her. Surprised, Savannah nonetheless headed that way, offering a grateful smile to Allison as she slid into the seat. Savannah knew who Allison was, but they weren’t friends. Allison was pretty, stylish, and in with the popular crowd, while Savannah had friends outside of that circle. She’d never considered Allison as a possible friend, assuming she was probably shallow and silly.

When the class ended an hour later, she gathered up her notebook and books and headed out the door.

“Savannah!” someone called. It was Allison. “Hey, want to sit together at lunch?” Allison asked, catching up to Savannah.

Although Savannah was unsure what was prompting Allison to seek her friendship, she was curious and said yes. As the girls filled their trays with French toast sticks and fruit cups and found a table, Savannah quickly realized that she and Allison had much more in common than she had thought. As long as she was judging Allison based only on her pretty face, trendy clothes, and cool group of friends, she hadn’t noticed how smart and funny she was.

The Bible reminds us that we shouldn’t judge by appearances because they don’t tell the full story. It’s only when we’re willing to look beyond how someone is dressed or the way they style their hair that we can get to know who they really are, and it’s only through genuine conversation that we can determine what someone else is really like inside. True wisdom is finding out who someone is before judging whether or not they would be a good friend. And sometimes—as Savannah did—we might be surprised at what we find.

Things to Think About

• Have you ever judged someone and then later found out they were different than what you had expected? Why or why not?
• Has anyone ever judged you without spending time to get to know you? How did you feel about that?

DAILY ACT OF FRIENDSHIP

Have a conversation with someone you’ve seen before but never talked to.