922) My mother cared little about going to amusement parks. I think a good part of the reason is that she has always struggled with motion sickness and, of course, that’s what a lot of amusement park rides would give her. One time, when we went as a family to an amusement park, I asked her if she minded it too much since she didn’t ride many rides. I remember her smiling and saying she enjoyed people-watching while we went on rides.

In thinking about people-watching, it is easy for us to compartmentalize people we know little to nothing about. We can make assumptions and conclusions about people while observing only their appearance, words, or reactions. There is often a lack of insight and discernment on our part and for that reason, we might have little expectations of those we observe. We may conclude that these people couldn’t possibly be someone that will succeed or be used by God.

In Jesus’ day, many quickly sized others up by what they assumed were judgments made by God. One such group of people were those suffering from leprosy. In New Testament times, many assumed that if you had this deadly disease, it was because you had displeased God. In Luke 17:20-37, we read of 10 such men.

These verses tell us that 10 lepers called out to Jesus to be healed. Jesus does and then, only one came back to Jesus to thank him and he was a Samaritan. This man had two strikes against him. He had leprosy, and he was a Samaritan. As a Jew in Jesus’ day, you would most likely have sized up this person as one who was irredeemable and if you had, you would be wrong.

I am reminded time after time when reading the Bible that it is not my place to size-up or pass judgment on others. I could be and most likely are wrong. It is not for me to determine who is deserving of God’s love and compassion and who is not.

If I’d spend my time sizing myself up spiritually, I wouldn’t have time to do this with others.