Don't Judge

     I seem to be getting a lot of lessons about judging people lately! Maybe someone upstairs is trying to tell me something. I'm judgmental. They aren't too far off, it's not that I'm judgmental of people as a whole, I just over-analyze people's actions a lot. It's a weakness I know, but we all have something that we can work on, right?

     Yesterday I had an incredible lesson in my Sunday-school class that made me really think twice about judging people.

     With tear-filled eyes and frequent stops to try and contain the emotions that he felt, Brother Perry recounted a story of when he had judged too quickly. Every day a boy had come into his class with a terrible attitude that took the spiritual edge completely out of the class. The boy was a negative pessimist of a student, who used terrible language. He laughed at his rude disruptions, knowing the damage that he was doing to the spirit and morale of the class.
One day Brother Perry was fed up with the boy,
"You can't talk like that in here! Get out of my class right now!" he demanded. Without another word, the boy solemnly rose from his chair. Without a backward glance he left the classroom, a trace of a smile on his lips. He had been right. Nobody wanted him. At home, at school, or in church and seminary.
The class sat, stunned into silence. A girl spoke up, her face had a look of horror clearly written across it,
"Brother Perry... Why did you do that? You don't know him. You shouldn't have done that! I have known him since the second grade, and his life is a total mess right now." Brother Perry felt guilty the second he had ordered the boy out, but he didn't know how else to react. Clearly the boy wasn't intending to change his attitude, but now he'd gone so far as to kick a student out of class.

     Maybe the boy had been testing him, trying to prove something to himself. Why else would a normally good-hearted boy who even bothered to show up to a church class have started acting out like that?

     Brother Perry called the boy's father that night. The father wasn't at home. The next day he found out the boy's story from the girl who had disproved of his sending the rude boy out of class.
The boy's dad had gotten a divorce from his mom, and in no time at all, got married to another woman. The boy's story was much like Cinderella, except for the fact that his mom was still alive and having to live with the pain of being abandoned all so quickly.

     His new step-mom paid no attention to him at all, and if she did, it was out of pure need. A need which she took with a look full of disgust and contempt, all because she did not like her step-son what-so-ever.

     And to make matters worse, his father was so madly enough in love with this second wife, that he paid no attention to his son. The careless father barely noticed him anymore. The boy was completely broken-hearted. His father had literally been his best friend. They had done everything together, and now he was gone. It was as if he had lost a dad and a best friend all in the same sitting. To make matters even more painful, his dad and his best friend were the same person, making the pain of abandonment all the worse. The boy was heart-broken and forlorn. He didn't know how to react to the horrible change of events in his life, and so he acted out at school and church. The stress and heart-ache were almost too much for him to bear... And then the only teacher who had cared for him on a spiritual level had tossed him out. Just like his dad.

Brother Perry went on to tell us in a choked voice,
"Guys... Don't judge anyone! You never know what is going on in a person's life, and even if you do that is no reason to judge them for it. We all make judgments. We're human. We can't help it. But please, please learn this; the worth of souls is great in the eyes of God. We aren't God, but we need to do our best to love people unconditionally no matter what they do or how they act."

Hands shaking, he took a five dollar bill out of his pocket.
In a more light-hearted tone he asked the class this question,
"Who in this class would want this five dollar bill?" In a church class, at least you can expect people to be fairly honest, after all. Hands rose up as we looked at the upraised face of another honest man, Honest Abe to be exact.
"Would you still want this money if I did this?" Without warning, Brother Perry crushed the bill in his hand, wrinkling it beyond the point where it could ever be made flat again.
"Now, who would still want this?" he asked solemnly.
All of our hands were raised as before.
"Why is that? It's all wrinkled. It doesn't look new. Why would you want this crinkled little thing?" A student looked up from his clasped hands and with a clear voice stated,
"Because it is still worth as much as it was before."
Brother Perry smiled, although the pain of memory still lingered in his eyes,
"Exactly. You wouldn't judge money, this five dollar bill is still worth as much no matter how crinkled it is... However, money is useless to God. Can you imagine how much more you, his children, are worth to him? His son died to redeem you, because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were worth it. You are worth it. Don't forget your worth, and don't forget that everyone, no matter who they are or what they have done are still of great worth."