"The Eyes of The Heart"
Luci Swindoll

The filthy station wagon pulled into the car wash, loaded with kids and a driver who looked as if he hadn't shaved in weeks. With his hair tousled and a cigarette hanging out of the right side of his mouth, he was wearing clothes he probably had slept in. When he stopped, all eyes turned toward him.

Hairy Dicer, if I ever saw one, I thought to myself. A friend of mine called anybody "Hairy Dicer" who had those little fur dice hanging from his rearview mirror. This guy took the prize.

He opened the back of the Wagon and began to lift out the occupants. One by one he hugged and kissed each child, whom he gently lowered to the ground. Then they romped and played with one another and their father to their little hearts' content. I knew they were his children because over and over they called him "Daddy."

"Oh, Daddy, play with us. Daddy, throw me the ball. Look, Daddy, look at this. I can do that, Daddy.....watch!"

Slowly, lovingly, deliberately, this disheveled man gave attention to all six children, playing, talking, laughing, discovering...and together they had a wonderful time. I sat, astonished and ashamed of myself for thinking the guy was a creep.

How quickly we judge another's outward appearance. It's so easy to do, isn't it? We see clothes that don't match, and at another's car, manners, music, posture, or facial characteristics...judging all the while.

I'll tell you, if the human perspective had been criterion for God's judgment, the Swindolls would have been zapped long ago. Each of us, my brothers and I, live the majority of our lives in well-worn clothes that don't match. Comfortable is what we like. More often than not, I go to the store in my oldest sweats. They're perfect. They fit the contours of my aging body and feel great. I don't want to change clothes just to pick up a carton of milk, grab a hamburger, or have the car washed. My friends encourage me to wear designer sweats. Not on your life!

In Antoine de Saint-Exupery's book, The Little Prince, he states the principle, "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Oh, how I love that thought. "What is essential is invisible" captures what we read in Scripture. Not only do we have no right to pass judgment on another, but we also have no way to see what's inside that person.

Who cares if the guy at the car wash was the opposite of my view of a proper dad? All those kids cared about was the attention he gave them. He listened. He played. He loved them.

And, you know what is really amazing? When I saw his heart...with my heart...he became almost good-looking. Well, maybe not good-looking, but certainly more appealing. I was him with different eyes, the eyes of nonjudgment. I liked him.

When I don't put any judgmental demands on others, I'm happiest because I know I'm doing what is right. I feel good. When nobody puts demands on me, it frees me to be who I really am--a slob, clothed in Christ's righteousness. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.........I Samuel 16:7

"This story was taken from "We Brake For Joy!" by the Women of Faith.
Copyright 1998 by Women of Faith, Inc."