Judging a Book By It's Cover

I am quick to admit that sometimes I am a slow learner.  I was ten or eleven years old before I came to believe that I would never be the first baseman of the New York Yankees.  That was in spite of the fact that I had never even been able to walk, much less run on a baseball field.  Somehow, in my mind, I thought that when I became old enough for the major leagues, it would just happen.  It can take me awhile to figure out the obvious. 

One day in seminary class, we had one of those unusual experiences when the professor was late for class.  Students were milling about the room visiting with one another.  Since I was in a wheelchair, it was normally easier for me to sit in the front of the class, often with few people nearby.  On this particular day, a young man who always remained in the back, came and sat in the chair beside me.  He introduced himself and then said, “I have wanted to speak with you all semester, but I didn’t know what to say.” 

Now I was the one who did not know what to say.  I did not know what he meant.  I suggested that he could simply say “Hello” and we could go from there.  As we talked, he revealed that he was uncomfortable with the fact that I was in a wheelchair and he had no idea how to relate to me.  Here was a young man who was probably a few credit hours short of graduation and becoming a pastor somewhere and he had no clue how to talk with a person who was different from others. 

It was the first time that it became clear to me that I was not like everyone else.  Since I was different, people treated me differently.  Until that moment, I was naïve, thinking and acting as if I was just like everyone else. 

It is true by the way, when your appearance is out of the ordinary people make judgments about you.  Numerous times, I have heard children say to a parent, “What’s wrong with that man,” and the parent grabs the child in embarrassment and quickly walks away.  When entering a restaurant, the host often directs her attention to my companion rather than me, or a salesperson in a store will answer my question by speaking to my wife.  Even in seminary, I was continually encouraged to study counseling since it would be unlikely for a guy like me to ever preach. 

There is a viral email making the circuit these days that is a video of a woman who entered a talent contest in Britain.  She has a very nice voice, but probably not any greater than dozens of other contestants entered in the same competition.  Yet this woman is being praised for her great talent and folks are acting as if she has already won the competition. 

The excitement is not because of her phenomenal voice, but because of her homely appearance.  If you are old enough, remember how amazed you were the first time you heard Gomer Pyle sing.  It is certainly true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are few who would look at this woman and mistake her for a super model.  Her clothing is rather plain, her hairstyle is out of date, and her makeup is non-existent.  There have been suggestions that she should experience a beauty makeover so they can turn her into an attractive woman. 

However, such a makeover would spoil this woman’s celebrity.  She has become famous because she does not appear to be someone who possesses a beautiful voice.  She does not look like a singer that we want up on the stage in bright lights.  This woman has become famous because she is not what we think she should be.  We have already judged this book by the cover and decided that she should not be a good singer. 

The good news is that this woman got a chance to utilize her gift.  Many folks never have that opportunity because of something as inconsequential as looks, or family background, or past mistakes, or poverty, or dozens of other reasons.  It makes you wonder how many wonderful singers there are in the world but we will never hear them because someone has already judged their cover and deemed them as unworthy. 

It is difficult not to judge people on their appearance.  Such evaluation has become a common experience, so much so that many of us are obsessed with our appearance.  We do not want to be overweight, underweight, too tall or too short, physically malformed or handicapped, homely, cursed with out of the ordinary features like big ears or nose, oily hair, dry skin, crooked teeth, an unflattering name, the wrong color skin, or hundreds of other maladies that can only be cured by products sold in late-night infomercials. 

“Please, don’t judge me by my cover.  I will do my best to clean it up and make it presentable, but there is much more to me than what you see.”  That is what the British singer was able to say in a once in a lifetime opportunity.  It is what most of us would like to be able to say.

That is the beauty of Jesus.  He does not look at the outside when he makes an evaluation.  He loves enough to take the time to get to know the inside.  Once you see the inside of most people, it is much easier to love them. 

Comments

[Ken]

Hi Terry,
Your comments about judging a book by its cover and the singer from Britain brings to mind something that has bothered me for a long some time. Why is it that when we elect the people to run our country we seem to be more interested in a person’s appearance and public speaking abilities than their knowledge, integrity and morality?

[Steve]

Great article Terry. Maybe not better, but a more challenging question to ponder. Were there not those persons named in the Old Testament that God favored as "handsome" or "beautiful"? And did He not bless certain ones with strength? So maybe God finds favor with outer beauty and or ability as well?