Judge Not

I just started a new Bible study by Beth Moore called David and am really enjoying it. Well, I'll say growing a lot as God changes my heart. It's not always a fun process but conviction rarely is.

This mornings' scripture was 1 Samuel 16:1-7 and it spoke about judging people. The last verse in particular jumped out at me: But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." How often do I sum up my feelings about someone within a few minutes of meeting them? Or in less than a few seconds as I pass them in a store? More often than I realize. It makes it even worse when I think about how much I HATE when people do that to me.

As I was reflecting on this, I thought about how worried I get about how people view me. On average I spend about 45 minutes getting physically ready for the day. How often do I spend 45+ minutes in the morning praying and putting on my spiritual armor for the day? While I usually spend quiet time with God in the morning, it doesn't even come close to 45 minutes. Am I really that much more concerned with what people think than what God thinks? While I hate to admit it, the answer seems painfully clear.

Am I the only one who thinks that this is completely backwards of how it should be?