Article May 31, 1999 Issue

Judgmental? Me?

Before you leap to judgment, look to God.

By Beverly Goldsmith

WHILE VISITING THE bank recently, I heard a teller and a customer discussing another person. The conversation went something like this. "What do you think of her?" "I don't like her at all!" "Oh, do you know her?" "No, I don't." "And yet you don't like her?" "That's right. She might be a nice person, but I just don't like the way she looks. That's just my personal opinion."

I have to say that as I stood waiting to be served, I began to examine my own thinking. Had I been guilty of making casual judgments about others based on their appearance, race, or gender?

I'd like to tell you that the answer is no. But I recall the time I decided an elderly man would be a bad driver because he was wearing a hat! Then there was the day when I thought that a teenage boy of another nationality was likely to be a purse snatcher. And what about the occasion when I viewed someone as a beer-drinking member of a gang because he had tattoos and rode a motorbike?

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Unexpected visitor in the parking lot