I was out of paper sacks, so I loaded my recyclables into a plastic trash bag and headed for the community recycling dumpster. I had full intentions of opening the sack and dumping its contents into the receptacle. The bag was simply a means to carry the items to their destination.
As I walked along the drive, a man pulled over and rolled down his window. “Don’t dump it in there! They’ll fine us and we will lose the privilege of having a recycling dumpster here.”
He didn’t know my intentions, nor the contents of the trash bag. He assumed…and I was offended. How dare he presume to know my intentions! When I explained, he became red-faced and apologized. Even so, all the way back to my apartment I felt the heat in my cheeks. If he had taken the time to really look, he’d seen that the opaque sack was filled with plastic water bottles, flattened cardboard boxes and shredded paper.
The Holy Spirit convicted me. “You are judging by appearances,” Paul warned his readers in 2 Corinthians 10:7. How often do I do that? To be honest, too often.
God sees the good intentions on the inside, in our hearts, minds, and souls. All we see is the opaque outside unless we take time to really peer into a person. Our bodies are simply a means for carrying what are the most important things, the things God can recycle for His use. Our thoughts, feelings, conscience, desires. He can take all of it and reuse it, remake it, reclaim it.
“God doesn’t make junk”, the bumper stickers proclaimed back in the day. Truth.
From now on, may I trash any preconceptions I have about other people and their intentions. Lord, help me do so.
Where Did You Find God Today? 