July 4, 2019

An Oldie But A Goodie

Daily Devotional March 7, 2017

Yesterday I sat with someone in an emergency room waiting room for 4 ½ hours waiting to be seen by a doctor. That’s a lot of sitting. But it gave me the opportunity to do one of my favorite things – watch people.

Did you know that there are some very strange people in emergency room waiting rooms?

There was the loud obnoxious man talking on a cell phone telling whoever was on the other end to call an attorney because it was time to sue.

There was an entire family that looked like they had come right off the set of Duck Dynasty.

There was the young mother with four little children. I felt sorry for her because she seemed to be overwhelmed by life.

There was a woman who looked like her clothes had been painted onto her body. I avoided looking in her direction.

There were parents trying to keep control of children who desperately needed to burn off some energy.

The entire place seemed to be full of people who didn’t act like me, talk like me, look like me, or think like me.

Luckily, they had me as a role model on how to look, talk, act, and think. They were very blessed to have me there as an example.

For people like me, who think they have it all together and look at others with judgment, Jesus has a stern warning. He says, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” (Matthew 7:1-2)

Who knows? There was probably someone in the emergency room looking at me thinking, “Why doesn’t that fat guy with the gray hair do something about his weight?”

The bottom line is that those of us who look at others and think they are weird should probably look in the mirror. We might just be surprised by what we see.

Also, it’s important to remember that God loves the loud obnoxious man, the family from Duck Dynasty, the young mother, the woman with the painted on clothing, the overwhelmed parents, and everyone else, as much as he loves me.

Prayer: Dear Gracious Heavenly God, in a world filled with intolerance and bigotry, help me to remember that each person has been made in your image. Help me to see others through your eyes. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Just to be sure, I looked up “Cool” in the dictionary. It had my picture. I knew I was right all along.

I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.

Tom Robbins