Walking in Their Shoes

Who are the people that you look down on? "Well, no one!" you say. But if you were really honest with yourself is that the true answer?

How often do we look down our noses at someone, never thinking about the advantages we have been given which perhaps they were not? Do you put people into "classes" in your mind? Well, this one is just a factory worker, this one went to community college, he went to Harvard, that one has a masters, she's just a waitress, .....and the list goes one. Can I just break something to you? Those things don't make the person! And if the money is the thing you just can't get past, then you need to realize that factory worker or mechanic or garbage man may be making more money that some people with a college education.

I'm not just talking financial advantages either. There are other things in life that shape who we are in a much more pinpointed way than money. There's home life, friendships, extended family, church family, life experiences....all kinds of things that could be looked upon as advantages (or disadvantages).

I'm just going to throw some things out there.

Was your childhood stable and happy?

Were you raised in a Christian home?

Did you have a father and a mother in the home?

If they professed to be Christians, did they just talk the talk or did they walk the walk? Were you getting a double message?

Was there alcoholism in your home?

Abuse of any kind from anyone in your life? (verbal, physical, or sexual)

Did you have the true support of family and friends?

Have you ever gone to bed hungry because there was no food? Ever been cold because there was no heat? Worn clothes that did not fit because it was all you had?

Have you ever been teased or made fun of or left out because of things you had no control over?

Have you ever struggled with fear, anger, or bitterness?

Have you ever struggled with an eating disorder or addiction?

Has there ever been a Christian you looked up to that totally let you down, stabbed you in the back or just hurt you? To a point that you were left disillusioned with the Christian faith?

What about now as an adult? Do any of these apply to what you are living in?

"Well, I wouldn't look down on someone because of any of those things!" you say. Yet perhaps you look down on someone who is struggling with the effects of these circumstances. We don't know what kind of baggage others might be carrying. Too often we throw barbs of disdain at others and dismiss their worth. Did you catch that? Dismiss their worth as a human being.

Maybe you're a strong person and you think they should just pull up their boot straps and get over it. Maybe you have dealt with some of these issues and that's what you were able to do. It's true enough that we can't live our lives based on the past. But Satan is a master at throwing it at us. And some people have a much more painful past than you may have. Their scars may be far worse than yours. In fact, some of those very people that you look down on so much, may have overcome far more than you will ever have to. If you really knew what their life had held you might come away with a dose of respect you never expected.

As Christians we need to wake up and realize we are ambassadors for Christ. We are carrying Him everywhere we go. We must learn to see people as He sees them. We've got to stop applying our standards to everyone else. Not only that, we've got to stop applying the Bible's standards of behavior to unbelievers. Why do you think so many people think all it takes is being a good person? It's us judging by behavior!

News flash! The family with the cute children who lives down the road, the little old lady across the street who likes to garden, the nice young man who mows your grass, the sweet girl who babysits..... if they don't know Christ as their savior they are just as hell-bound as the drunk shouting obscenities, the prostitute on the corner or the young girl who dresses inappropriately and gives it away for free. They may have better morals but it doesn't make them saved. However....however, it makes us Christians more comfortable. We feel safer around someone who can act more like us. The ironic thing is they may be harder to reach with Christ than the person who is wallowing in sin.

So today as you go about your business, try to see people in a different light. Don't dismiss them as being unworthy because they fail to reach your own lofty ideals. When you are tempted to take a disdainful attitude, instead pray for them. Find a way to love them. And realize that it is only by God's grace that you have come this far.