Jesus said to Nicodemus:
‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world
not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.
No one who believes in him will be condemned;
but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,
because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.’
me
Class discussion:
•
NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER is a familiar proverb.
It reminds us not to judge a person or a situation on first
impressions.
•
When you meet someone for the first time do you judge
them on first appearances?
•
How long does it take you before you form an accurate
impression of someone?
•
On what evidence do you base your impression?
•
Can you tell whether a person is kind just by looking at
them?
Often we do judge people when we first meet them.
A good example of how wrong we can be occurred in
the first show of the current series of Britain’s Got
Talent. We saw an unmarried Scottish lady of 47 years
of age called Susan Boyle come onto the stage to talk
to Simon Cowell before she sang ‘I Dreamed a Dream’
from Les Miserables. She was not wearing fashionable
clothes or sporting a modern hairstyle. As we saw her
for the first time I am sure we all began to make
assumptions about her. The crowd sniggered as Simon
Cowell began asking her why her ambition to be a
professional singer had not worked out so far. Susan
Boyle reported later, ‘I knew what they were thinking
and I knew that they were laughing at me. But I
thought, well, they’ll soon shut up when they hear me
sing. And they did’.
Watch me!
Were your first impressions changed after
you heard Susan sing? Piers said it was the
biggest surprise he had had in three years of
the show and that he was reeling from
shock, and he gave her the biggest yes he
had given anybody. Amanda said she was
thrilled because everybody had been against
her when she had appeared on the stage
and she added that it had been a privilege to
listen to her. Simon’s face said it all!
Your challenge is to go an
entire week without stereo
typing someone. Do not
judge people on how they
look. Get to know them.
See what you have in
common!
Father, Our world today is torn with strife. We are
often overwhelmed by stories of hatred and
prejudice. Reveal to us how we have been guilty of
prejudice and stereotypes. Help us to see people
who are different from us through Your eyes. We
need Your help to love our neighbours as ourselves.
Help us reach out in love to those around us and
break down the barriers of prejudice in our
communities. Amen.