Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional “Outward Appearance” for Monday, 22 December 2014 - Scripture: James 2:1-5

Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional “Outward Appearance” for Monday, 22 December 2014 - Scripture: James 2: The Royal Rule of Love
1-4 My dear friends, don’t let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, “Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!” and either ignore the street person or say, “Better sit here in the back row,” haven’t you segregated God’s children and proved that you are judges who can’t be trusted?
5-7 Listen, dear friends. Isn’t it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn’t it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind? Aren’t they the ones who scorn the new name—“Christian”—used in your baptisms?
Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality.”[Acts 10:34 (NRSV)]
When I entered the grocery store, he caught my attention immediately. The young man was of a different race than I. He had an unusual haircut and was dressed in a manner that I considered offensive. He looked out of place.
After shopping, I went to the self-checkout to pay for my groceries. Fumbling with the items and my wallet, I scanned my groceries and paid for them. As I walked out of the store, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see the man I had noticed earlier. He handed me my wallet. I had not realized that I had dropped it.
As much as I was relieved to have my wallet returned, I was ashamed at how I had “profiled” this young man. As a teacher, I have worked successfully with students of many races and nationalities. I should have known better than to make assumptions about someone based on their race and appearance. Thankfully, God does not judge us by our appearance. I re-learned a valuable lesson that day about not judging people by the way they look.
Read more from the author, here.
The Author: Tim Wood (Tennessee, USA)
Thought for the Day: God sees what is inside each of us.
Prayer: Holy God, help us to see the best in everyone and to look beyond outward appearances. Amen.
Prayer focus: Teenagers
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