Never judge a book by its cover

A older man pulls into a car dealership in his 12 year old Hyundai. Like hungry sharks, the always eager salesmen look over the potential buyer. The man is dressed in old sweat pants, a v-neck undershirt, and sneakers with an emerald stain (no doubt after years of cutting grass).

Quickly, the group of sharp dressed salesmen lose interest and go back to their water cooler discussions or start surfing ESPN.com on their iPhones.

The old man enters the dealership and literally has to tap a salesman on the shoulder in order to get his attention. As the salesman turns (we'll call him Dave) he offers a half-hearted smile, and can hear his buddies snickering in the background. This is going to be such a waste of his time he thinks to himself.

Just then another man pulls into the parking lot in a 2 year old Lexus. Before he even steps one foot out of the car, Dave feels a rush of wind as his associates sprint to meet the potential buyer. They are literally fighting over this guy.

The old man smiles at Dave and asks to see some of the higher end vehicles. Dave sighs and waves his hand for the old man to follow. After 15 minutes looking over various cars (Dave had finished giving the old man the revised version of his sales pitch 14 minutes earlier) the old man stuns him with a sudden remark.

"I'll take 3 of these." The old man says. "1 is for my daughter, the other is for my grandson, the other is for my wife of 35 years."

Dave is shocked and pauses for a minute just to make sure the old man isn't pulling his leg (these are $55k cars for crying out loud, is this guy serious he asks himself).

"Is cash okay?" The old man asks. "I'd like to get this taken care of before the end of the day. I'd like to surprise them before they get home."

Later that day, after the old man had left, Dave is finishing up his paperwork and he notices one of his buddies, Ralph, (the one who was lucky enough to get to the Lexus driver first) comes over, sits in the chair across from him and just stares.

"What?" Dave asks.

"I didn't sell a darn thing today," Ralph replied, as he tapped his lips with his finger, eying Dave up and down. "But you Dave, you get this old nobody who comes from nowhere and he buys not 1, not 2, but 3 cars from you...like that! (snapping his fingers). Dave just sat there, shrugged his shoulders, and marked it up to dumb luck.

Later that night Dave was cleaning out his bookshelf. He had just bought a $95 book titled, 'The Wine Connoisseurs Encyclopedia.' It was a nice thick hardcover book that he had been wanting for quite some time. After today's sale, the commission gave him the flexibility to purchase it. As Dave wiggled the book into the shelf he accidentally knocked over another book. It was an old bible that had been passed down from his father. Dave had never really opened it, mostly because he felt that he couldn't really relate to any of the stories. The bible was lying page up and as Dave reached down he noticed the page had opened to a chapter in book of Romans. For some reason that he could not understand, Dave began reading the page starting at verse 9.

⁹ For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. ¹¹ It is written:
" 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.' "
¹² So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Romans14:9-12

Then and there Dave got on his knees and began to weep. He knew that he had unjustly judged the old man at the dealership earlier that day. And for some reason that he could not comprehend, God blessed him with the sale of 3 cars.

Dave spent the remainder of the night reading his fathers old bible. God had taught him a valuable lesson to never judge someone by their appearance...

Let us remember to do the same.

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Perfection...or lack thereof

At times, I can’t help but feel like a hypocrite. There are situations where the stresses of life take over and I act in a manner that is far from being a Christian. I know that this is part of being human, for we are not perfect. Actually, no one is perfect except for God. However, I always end up feeling like I let Him down, my family down, and even myself down when I act in a foolish manner.

Why is it so hard to love our neighbor as ourselves? Why is it so hard to resist saying something in response to something that was said to us? Why is it so hard to put other people first?

Each day we are faced with temptation. The devil’s hatred of God is beyond our comprehension and he works 24/7/365 to try and get us to sin. It is through sin that the devil wins these small battles that take us farther away from God’s grace. However, through faith and perseverance, it is up to us win the war. By “winning the war” I am referring to resisting temptation, obeying God’s words, and bouncing back when you’re faith is down. We do this with one goal in mind - so that we have a chance to pass though the gates of Heaven on our day of judgment.

So how do we win the war against sin? First and foremost, we must familiarize ourselves with God’s word, i.e. the Bible. We must commit ourselves to thinking and acting in the way that the Bible tells us to. This is indeed a repetitive act and becomes much more than a “one time shot”…it is a lifetime commitment. The hard part is more in the execution than it is in absorbing His word.

27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

30I and the Father are one."

John 10:27-30


Final Thoughts -

When we think about it - doesn’t if feel better when we do something good? In times when we inadvertently distance ourselves from God, doesn’t something just not feel right? We will all be judged on our actions, our in-actions, and the thoughts within our hearts.

So, the next time you are about to respond or act in a highly emotional manner consider the following verse from the Book of Romans before you act.

16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.

18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Romans 12:16-19

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!