By Pastor Paul Hauschild
Chatfield and Root Prairie
Lutheran Churches
There was once an elderly woman who went to the grocery store in California to do some shopping. When she returned to her car, she noticed four men getting into her car in a big hurry! They were trying to steal the car!
The woman dropped her shopping bags, reached into her purse, and pulled out a pistol which she used for protection. She ran to the front of her car, aimed the weapon at the men, and began screaming at the top of her lungs. She ordered them out of her car.
“I know how to use this, and don’t think I won’t!” she screamed. The four men didn’t hesitate. They threw open the car doors, scrambled out, and started running as fast as they could.
The woman was trembling but held her composure. When she was certain the men were gone, she put the pistol back into her purse, picked up her bags, and loaded them into the back seat of the car. She then climbed into the driver’s seat and decided to go immediately to the police station to report the incident.
But there was a small problem. Her key wouldn’t fit into the ignition. A quick glance around the interior confirmed that she was in the wrong car! Her vehicle was parked four spaces away.
She loaded her bags into her own car and drove to the police station to confess what she had done. When she told the story to the sergeant, he couldn’t control his laughter. He just pointed to the other end of the counter where four very shaken men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman! The woman apologized, and no charges were filed.
Funny story! But you know, things are not always as they first appear. Have you ever jumped to conclusions about someone only to later find out that you were badly mistaken? You may have hurt someone with unkind words or gestures or looks. You may have spread or perpetuated a rumor that wasn’t true, or refused to include someone in your circle of friends.
Like the woman in the story, many of us tend to assume the worst about people. We don’t think; we just “know” that we are right, and they are wrong until we find out otherwise. The Lord calls us to have patience with others and to think the best of them at every turn. We are to listen to those who are different than us in order to get to know them. We need to refrain from labeling people good or bad and not let fear of differences guide our thoughts and actions.
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged… and the measure you give will be the measure you get… take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye” (Matthew 7:1-5).
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