Will B.
There is a popular saying: perception is reality. I do believe this to be true as well. Should it be? Probably not in some cases and in other cases, yes it should be. We as humans used to have a heightened sense of danger or instinct; they would tell us in our guts that something isn’t right or we would see something and know danger! Fight or Flight! So, in some regards seeing someone who we perceive to be dangerous or seeing something we perceive to be dangerous can be a good thing, maybe even save our lives.
Where perception is a bad thing is when we judge people on what we perceive - what they look like, in plainer terms. Is this right? Maybe not, but we are who we are. I make a concerted effort on a daily basis not to judge people on what I see. I want to know what they are about before deciding how much interaction I want with the person. It’s not always easy, I am the first to admit. Judging others should be left up to God. It is not our place to judge others, and that includes the way they look.
Matthew 7:1-5 says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
I have to refresh myself with these verses from time to time, to check myself. I slip from time to time, just as we all do. Think how just this one passage could change the world for the good, if everyone could just stop judging. Honestly the world would be incredibly boring if we all looked alike, dressed alike and acted alike.
The second verse and the one that could truly change the world for the better and end all wars is Matthew 22:3739. “Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” This is one of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible for me. Imagine a world where everyone truly lived by this. Wow! That’s an amazing thing. We don’t have to change the whole world but we can change the world around us with one simple step: Love those around you as you love yourself. This is Will B saying, spread a smile, a hug or just be polite to those around and see if your world doesn’t get a little brighter.