Well, it finally arrived. The first day of School. Here in Kent Washington, the teachers of our district have been on strike for about 2 weeks, and today, the kids finally went back to school.
It was kind of weird. Usually you are excited about the first day of school, because you know when it is, but in this case, it just came upon us. The teachers accepted the contract, and then poof, back to school.
Crystal and I both went up to the school this morning. You could see all types of kids and parents. The parents that were excited to have their kids leave, the ones that were uneasy letting the little ones go. Its fun to watch. I enjoy looking at people. The only issue I always think of, is, are people looking at me also?
I don't dress up much. I had a job for 5 years after the military that I had to wear a tie every day. Before that is was a uniform for 6 years. For some reason my uniform of the day now, is usually jeans and a T-Shirt. This morning, looking at the other dads dropping off their kids, I became aware that I was one of the only dads not wearing a collared shirt.
It shouldn't matter, but for some reason, I think that people make judgments about people based on how they are dressed. They assume that they have a certain type of job, or have a certain level of income based solely on outward appearance. I try not to be that way, but at times, I even find myself doing it.
I thought to myself this morning- should who I am or what I do be connected to how I look? In some cases yes, it should, but at the core, I think it brings up a larger issue. We tend to judge people on how they look, which brought to mind a bible verse about the selection of a new king in Israel. "do not consider his height or his appearance, for these are things than man looks at. The Lord looks at the heart".
We should all do that more. Look at hearts, not at clothes. Pay closer attention to who people are, and less to what they are wearing. I think we would all do better to do this. Myself included.
Be blessed today
matt
I once knew a man, Wally Hess, who from the out-side looked like one of the poorest among the towns people. He wore ragged jeans, but his t-shirts were always clean. He drove a mo-ped, and his main ride was an old truck. Not to many people cared about Wally, but he was a good friend of mine. You see, Wally had a heart of gold. He'ld give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Wally's secret was his mines. He had several silver mines in Mexico, and gold mines in California. These mines were working mines, and Wally was able to help alot of children through collage with the proceeds from his mines. Wally was RICH, by anyone's standards. Who needs fancy clothes or a hot ride, when you're a miner?
ReplyDeleteI learned a long time ago...Don't read a book by it's cover. Alot of people missed out on a relationship with a wonderful, friendly, loving man. Remember how Christ came to earth, walked among the people? Not AS a king but as a commonner? Who are we to be judging anyway?