A Raised Eyebrow

Today as I was reading in the book of Matthew, I got to a verse that stopped me and caused me to think. In Matthew chapter 7 verse 1 we read do not judge for in the same way you judge you will be judged. The scripture then goes on to explain that we must really look at ourselves before we start to point out what is wrong with other people.

As I was sitting in the coffee shop today I saw a perfect example of the scripture in perfect context. A young man walked past a group of people and as he walked by the entire group gave him a raised eyebrow. After he was safely out of ear shot, the insults and comments about his appearance started flowing like spoiled milk from a defunct dairy. Let me describe the look of the young man and you be the judge.

The young man in question of his character by his appearance had dark hair with a light whitish yellow streak along the tips, a lip ring, and his dress was in Urban Outfitters and American Eagle jeans and shirt with Doc Martin shoes. His shirt was not tucked in and his jeans were ripped, however the jeans in question were manufactured that way. Does this young man's dress dictate his soul and his character? If so then we should understand, the clothing in question was not cheap. The jeans alone were around a hundred dollars and the shirt and shoes were around that much as well. The hair was professionally done and the lip ring was a silver stud. So basically, the young man in question was wearing his best as he was in public. No one spoke to him to try to understand him. No one asked him to join them for coffee. No one offered to mend his tattered jeans. They just raised an eyebrow in discontent with his dress and appearance.

To many time we are guilty of basing our opinion on the superficial rather than the truly meaningful. Could this be the problem with Christianity today? Have we gotten so caught up in appearances that we forget the one we serve was a man in workers clothes and sandals. Would he smell like us today with designer perfumes and hair products? What would we have thought of Jesus at face value? What about John the Baptist? Camel Hair and locusts and wild honey?? Not exactly you Jos A Bank suit and tie that we come to expect from the man of God.

Sadly, this young man walked by not knowing what he was being accused of. The even more disheartening part was that the group of people that questioned his character and even the relationship he had with God did not find out the truth about this young man. He is a Christian and his passion for wanting to do the will of God is evident when you speak to him. This young man simply wants to be relevant to the generation in which he works. It is not the clothes that makes the man. It is his soul and it's relationship to almighty God that truly define him.

If you seek the inner man and look past the outer man then you will find the true man. I wish I could take credit for this way of thinking, but Jesus invented this way of thinking he got it from his Dad. Eyebrows Down People and mouths open.