One color.

It's no lie--we live in a world where everyone is defined by something. Whether that be color, financial status, age, clothing, music taste, etc., we place labels and often harsh judgments on first impressions. I know this because not only did I grow up judging others, but I myself, as the rest of you, have been victim to judgment. The unfortunate truth is that all of us have been both the victims and victimizers in this case. Whether we admit to it or not, we have all been judged and judge frequently--even if it is only in our minds.

Jesus came to bring only one color. He alone is what defines us, and yet STILL we live so much like the Pharisees and see only the outside. Christians are certainly not innocent in this matter. The irony, of course, is that according to the New Testament, the Church is supposed to be the greatest proof for love, and more importantly--Jesus. Yet, as needy people, we have fallen into a state of bondage; we are always seeking a way to place ourselves above or below... constantly walking around with a measuring tape trying to figure out where we fall.

When we love someone, we AGREEING with God that they are worth His death. Yet when we give a judgmental glare or gossip within our minds, all we are doing is saying, "God--I don't agree with You. I know You created everyone--but certainly You could not have created this person." Even the person you cannot stand, God said, "Here's their price," and died on Calvary. There are no ifs, no ands, and no buts--all people have unsurpassable worth because God created them. Period.

Blah blah blah, right?

Let me tell you about a moment in my life where I was suddenly smacked with reality. Low and behold, of all things... I was in the mall. As a high school student, I actually dreaded going to the mall. If you have ever been insecure in your life (which I'm sure you haven't), you know what I'm talking about. My biggest temptation every time I walked into a mall was to pull out my imaginary measuring tape. I asked myself constantly, "Where do I fall in this crowd?"

Suddenly, there was a microphone connected to my head. I felt like an eavesdropper and was disgusted by my mind's disease. I noticed that I had an opinion about almost everything and everyone that walked by. I had a constant commentary running through my brain. I was gossiping about people in my own brain! Then, I asked myself the question, "Why am I doing this?" And as I analyzed this, I noticed that there was a part of me that was truly enjoying this--there was this small, nasty part of my soul that was actually liking this. The gossip festival lets us think that we are a little bit above everyone else.

The root, of course, is that we want people to be like us. We might not admit it--but inside we think, "If only people did things my way," or, "If only people would look the way I did." For thousands of years, people have said this in their minds, causing destruction and even death all because we want the power to be the most important. I think God says to us, "Uh, I don't think I gave you that job description. I don't recall giving you that right... what did I tell you to do? Oh, that's right, I told you to live in love."

Unexpectedly, as I was driving home from the mall, I became conscious of my heart's biggest disease. I refused to look at people in the way God does. That day--I decided that no matter what my flesh sees, I would look past it and instead CHOOSE to see what God sees. If we surrender our lives to Christ, then we are agreeing with Him that everyone was created equally.

I don't know what your struggle is, but I know you've got one. No one is innocent of judgment--we all deal with it because we are insecure humans that constantly attempt to measure up. I have no clue who you judge, why you judge them, or what you see when you look at others. Perhaps, for you, you hate anything that has to do with popularity. You look at the kids with the "nicer" clothes, "nicer" cars, or "big" houses and judge them for being spoiled. Maybe, like we talked about on Wednesday, you deal with racist thoughts--and although you dare not admit it--down within your soul you know there are prejudices you hold onto for no reason. You may express them lightly with "playful" jokes, but you're only kidding... right? Right?

When we choose to BELIEVE what God has told us, we are agreeing with him that all people were created equal. To the people of Galatia, Paul wrote,"Now, before faith came, we were held captive under the law imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian--for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS." (Galatians 3:23-28) Paul is urging the Galatians to no longer look at the outside--and yet see that Christ had (and has) made every person ONE in Christ Jesus.

Who are you not giving worth to? Who is it that you look at, talk to, or interact with that you place below yourself? Where are your thoughts coming from? Are they coming from God, or yourself? Because, if your thoughts come from the Holy Spirit--then I can tell you FOR SURE they are not thoughts of external judgment. We know it to be true through God's Word, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b)

Judgment, no matter the kind, separates the body of Christ. We are not designed to live as a separated chaos, but rather as a unified body that sees only Jesus. We are one color in Christ.

Love to all,
Anne