Devotional: Pumpkins and People (John 7:24)

Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. (John 7:24)

Last year I drove kindergarteners to a pumpkin patch. I walked around looking at all the different kinds of pumpkins they had. There were so many different colors of pumpkins, and different sizes and shapes. It amazed me. I was told by an attendant that this ugly gray one makes the best-flavored pumpkin pie.

This revealed to me you can’t judge a pumpkin by how it looks on the outside. It’s what is inside that counts. Also, this principle applies to a lot of other things, such as, you can’t judge a book by its cover or people.

In 1 Samuel 16, for example, we read of the anointing of King David. The Lord told Samuel to go to the house of Jesse. For he said,

I have provided for myself a king among his sons. (1 Samuel 16:1b)

After Jesse and his first son came to the place where Samuel had invited them, Samuel thought surely this son will be the one. But the Lord said to Samuel,

Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

There were 7 sons who passed before Samuel, then he asked Jesse “Are there any more sons?” Yes, Jesse said, “he is out keeping the sheep.” Samuel requested to have him brought to him.

David was not the likely one to be chosen in the eyes of Samuel and Jesse. He was the youngest, the baby of the family. He was more likely the smallest of all his brothers, he was a sheep herder. But the Lord chose David. The Lord knew his heart.

We shouldn’t choose or judge someone by their size, by what they wear, or by the color of their eyes, hair, or skin. We shouldn’t judge by what kind of facial expression they have. They might be in deep thought from bad news or a memory.

So like those many different pumpkins, we should be careful how we choose and judge. You might just want to pick the ugly gnarly pumpkin. It might be the best one on the inside.