Judging Joey

Pin It Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold — but so does a hard-boiled egg. - Unknown

I have been thinking a lot lately about people and how easy it is to judge them like books on library shelves, before ever having taken the time to “read” them. I am reminded of an experience several years ago when I was living in Missouri. My mom sent me a letter and in it she spoke about the way that we treat people, and also how we see them. Mom had been working in Colville, Washington at the time and she said:

“I was at work this week and I was looking out the window, watching people passing by on the sidewalk. I soon noticed a man who had cerebral palsy walking down the sidewalk. I watched him as he tried to make his uncooperating body cooperate as he made his way up the sidewalk. As he passed by the window, I noticed that on the back of his shirt were printed the words, “Jesus Christ” in large letters and also something else beneath this which was too small for me to read. I thought to myself just how interesting it was that this man had chosen to show his belief in the Savior in this way. It was a moment later that a thought struck me...that maybe he really was the Savior. Maybe he had made himself appear in this way to see how those around him would react. It was this thought that made me feel ashamed and I realized then that we all need to be more loving, and less judging of those who are around us.”

“We take it for granted we know the whole story - We judge a book by its cover and read what we want between selected lines.” - W. Axl Rose

I can’t even begin to recall how many times I have been judgmental of others because of the way they look on the outside. I was reminded of how dangerous this can be with a young man I’ll choose to call, “Joey.” Joey had come into my classroom a few years ago and with the long hair, baggy clothes, and the chain connecting his wallet to his pants, he had the distinct look of a honest-to-goodness punk. I remember the first day he came to my classroom and how I had no expectations from this boy other than the fact that he was going to be nothing but trouble.

Well, as it turned out, “Joey” turned out to be the exact opposite of what I had thought originally. He was a young man that cared deeply for others and who also worked very hard in school and got good grades.

There were numerous times Joey would help others and include them in the games he played at recess. I found myself ashamed that I had judged someone so quickly and had been ready to not even give them a chance. This was a boy who taught me that we should not be so quick to judge others…for, if we do, we will undoubtedly find ourselves wrong in many instances. I believe that Mother Teresa summed it up best when she said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” We should try be as loving and as accepting as we possibly can, after all, we want to be accepted and loved by those around us.