Do Not Judge
By now you have probably seen the video of Susan Boyle, 47, on Britian’s Got Talent. If not, you must check it out. This woman has really caused me to think. At the beginning of the video you see the judges and audience members rolling their eyes and thinking ‘she is going to stink.’ Had Matthew not told me how much I was going to love it, I would have likely thought the same thing.
But then she sings that first note and wow.
I had goosebumps down every inch of me.
And then I felt ashamed of my shallowness. Who am I to judge her based on her appearance? Her talent had likely gone overlooked because of people like me.
The bible is very clear about judgment. Luke 6:36-38 says:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
This week I am spending time asking God to reveal to me ways I can better love and appreciate those around me and refine me to be more like Him. This is something I will likely work on my whole life, but I hope that with reminders like sweet Susan Boyle, I will emulate Christ more.
Update: Just saw that my Pastor Pete blogged about this today too! Crazy cool. Check out his post.
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I also just saw the video of Susan. I too thought the same thing, that they were showing it because she was so terrible. She is AWESOME! I think that we should look at this lesson as a gift. And I hope she wins… 🙂
Lisa
Wisconsin
I agree! It was incredibly and I’ll admit, it made me tear up. She rocked!
This was amazing Jessica. A good example to NEVER judge a book by its cover!!
Thanks Jessica — something I needed this morning. Loved the video!
I think judging from appearances is sometimes all we have to go on. I think its okay if we are open to learn about the person instead of always defaulting to the initial impression.
I thought she was amazing. Made me tear up. And I especially loved the look on Simon’s face!
that was amazing. you are so right. God has really been working on me over the past year with not judging others. i still have a long way to go, but i am working on it.
Woah! No, I hadn’t seen it. Thanks for sharing. She is totally amazing. And it only took about 2 notes for the audience to realize their mistake. We do judge on appearance, sadly. I wonder how much we miss because of it. Definitely makes you think.
I’m so glad you shared this video and your thoughts….WOW!
ditto. :o)
thanks for sharing the video! I’ve been hearing about it and haven’t had a chance to watch it. How amazing!
I watched this with my family on Saturday and I will be really honest before she sang I didnt know what to think. Then there is one shot where a girl in audience rolled her eyes and sniggered. From that moment on I just thought give it a chance. At the end I was so happy for the applause but it did make me think…there is no place for negative opinion until you have given it a chance.
xxx.
It leaves me overwhelmed with sadness about mankind and our tendencies to reward physical beauty. I wonder how many times this talented woman was scoffed at and not given a chance by those of us who are so shallow.
How richly she deserves all our admiration and praise.
That video made me cry like a baby!
wow..i just saw the video and it was amazing!!! we are all guilty of judging others based on their looks…at least we are trying to fix that and being more conscious of that…thanks for the video
Thank you so much for sharing that video. I literally cried through the whole thing. Thank you.
OMG! I had not yet seen that video and I was bawling like a baby. What a sweet voice! I owned a retail store for 14 years and we had a customer that most people thought was mentally challenged. She had some personal and social issues to be sure, but if you took the time to know her, she was a lovely person. She could talk about everything from politics to science to books, could figure out fairly complex knitting instructions and garment shaping, but you had to get past your judgments of her (and not many tried sadly). Thanks for sharing this video – hope we see more of Miss Susan!
I too was skeptical of her until I heard her and then I had the same reaction as you. Isn’t it a shame that we are so quick to judge people without even knowing them.
Btw…Hollye was helping me set up my blog when she saw that I had your blog as one that I read. She asked if I knew you and I told her no, I was just a “lurker”…she said that she knew you and that you scrapbooked together. Hollye and I grew up in the same neighborhood….small world isn’t it.
Your comments are so insightful. What exactly do you mean by “people like me”? Did you ever stop to think that someone may look at you and the way you dress or where you live or or how you behave in general and judge you? They may see a wannabe or a pathetic poser. Makes you think before you judge someone else or before you decide that you are better than someone else.
Elise
oh my goodness. I have tears running down my face. What a beautiful voice and person… I had the same feelings. Thank you for sharing… I am definetly going to pass it on to some friends.
Michelle
I love the video jessica and have to admit I cryed too…it was great food for thought and discussion today at the pharmacy..xoxox mom
Wow. Seriously, I wish I could say I was above that, but I was right there in it.
Ugh.
She is an incredible singer! I also hope she wins! 😀
I don’t like reality TV for exactly the reasons you mentioned, Jessica. Most participants are so shallow! Thank God for Susan to teach all of us a lesson in humility and being nonjudgmental.
WOW!!!!
wonderful post! i read pete’s too…whew…really convicting. and very very humbling.