Have you ever thought one thing only to find out it was something entirely difference. As much as I love watching sports, I never developed much interest in tennis. I guess that was the reason why I thought one thing while others who know the game of tennis thought something else. When I saw the bumper sticker on some little sports car that read “Love is for losers,” I thought how terrible that was. Of all the commands that God gives, the very heart of all is love. Paul said in I Corinthians 13 that it was the greatest when compared with faith and hope. How could anyone say “love is for losers.” I count myself a winner just as you do, and we all know the importance of love. Most of you know of my mistake. In the game of tennis a “love” score is a zero. If your score in a tennis match is “love” you lose. So in tennis, love really is for losers. The proper perspective on things is really important.
It is really easy for most of us to make wrong first judgments. Based on incomplete or inaccurate information, we can jump to wrong conclusions and make poor valued judgments about people and situations. And that can cause great hurt to others. I think it was the first year I taught that I received a transfer student into my class. Before this young man came into my class, I had such a good class. He looked like a rebel from the afro style hair style to the jeans he was wearing. My thought was he was going to ruin a perfectly good year. By year’s end, he was the best student in class. My first opinion was wrong. I am thankful that God gave me a heart to give him an opportunity to prove himself. Long ago there were some people who misjudged our Savior. Do you remember what Jesus had to say as he warned them about what they were doing. “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). We need to be careful that our judgments are backed up by the right information (that means the truth) and the right attitude (that means the compassion of Christ). Maybe the phrase “love is for losers” could be misleading for those who may not know much about tennis. However I think that each of us can understand, and not be mislead with the motto “Righteous judgment is for winners.” I recently read an interesting statement— A snap judgment has a way of becoming unfastened. Let each of us be wise in our judgments.
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
1 comment:
You know, just a day ago I posted this on my Facebook wall - "It's easy to pass judgment on people we really don't know."
Sometimes we base our assessment of others on one word said, one wrong deed even ridiculously, on an outfit or just because a person is different from most people.
That's how the Pharisees saw Jesus, not realizing they were persecuting the Messiah they had long been waiting for.
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