Loud Lessons in a Whisper
Hello, and welcome to The Pondering Scottie! I’m Brooke Z and I’m delighted YOU are here. We have so many new faces and that’s exciting! Subscribers can enjoy encouraging posts and notes centered around the topics of Jesus, family, travel, books, homeschooling, nature and some surprises thrown in along the way! Paid subscribers receive access to all archived, paid posts and chats. Followers are welcome to subscribe at any time!
And now, on to our post:
God had a lesson he wanted me to be reminded of, maybe you need a gentle nudge too.
The young man sat in the row right in front of me at church.
Then a lady came and excused herself to others as she took the seat right next to him.
They exchanged smiles and pleasantries and the service began.
He then began whispering to his lady friend.
And the whispering continued and she’d look at him and nod from time to time.
This went on for a while.
The whispering taking place directly in front of me, if I’m being honest, and I am, was getting annoying.
Didn’t they know I was trying desperately to focus on the sermon!
But since I had to look over them to do so, I wasn’t getting much out of the service.
Meanwhile, my adult son, seeing my frustration, leaned over and said to me, “He’s translating for her.”
Oh my goodness! Did I ever feel bad for being impatient and judgmental!
It was at that point; I fully understood that he was helping her by relaying the sermon in a language she could understand.
I was humbled to pieces by his precious gesture to interpret for her. I went from being totally annoyed to completely understanding and even supportive of the situation playing out directly in front of me!
Now that I knew the truth about what was going on, I could easily overlook them and wasn’t distracted!
Hmm, interesting how that happens, huh?
Then, about halfway through the sermon, another kind gentleman extended his arm and handed over his phone with a translation app for the young woman. She gratefully smiled and accepted! She could now read the sermon in her own language and both her and her translator seemed so appreciative!
Well, I was near in tears at this point being such a close witness to all this kindness happening right before my eyes!
There was a mini sermon going on directly in front of me and it was this:
Do not be so quick to judge!
My husband and I discussed what we’d observed as we walked out to the parking lot when church was over.
I told him, there’s a bigger lesson in this:
How often do we get annoyed by the little things when we don’t know the WHOLE story?
You see, once I knew what was happening, I wasn’t distracted anymore! I could easily overlook them and focus on the music and the sermon.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could do that with each other?
With our families?
Our co-workers?
Our NATION?
Here’s an idea for us: How about we get to KNOW other people and their stories BEFORE we get annoyed, judgmental and distracted at what they’re doing.
Jesus was the perfect example of getting at the heart of people’s stories!
When the Pharisees brought the adulterous woman before him to be stoned in John 8:1-11, Jesus had compassion on the woman, not judgment. Scripture tells us Jesus knelt down and wrote in the dirt then stood and said, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Crickets.
One by one, the Bible tells us, her accusers left and Jesus and the woman were left alone. He quietly asks her if anyone else has condemned her to which she replies, “No one, sir.”
Jesus then loving tells her, “Then neither do I condemn you.”
Many places in the Bible tell us not to judge others.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Matthew 7:1
“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” Romans 2:1
“You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.” Romans 14:10
Truthfully, I can’t tell you what the preacher taught about that Sunday BUT I do remember the lesson God taught me from the row right in front of me!
I’m thankful God let me be a witness to that beautiful scenario.
Can any of you relate to not knowing the whole story and getting “out of kilter” perhaps with your husband? Your children? A stranger?
We would be wise to:
Not jump to conclusions
Get the facts
Offer grace
Demonstrate love
Journal ideas:
Write about a time you misjudged someone OR a time someone misjudged you. What was the outcome? How did that make you feel?
Write about ways to get to know people and their story. What questions would you ask them? What questions are you willing to be asked by someone?
Pray this prayer with me:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for being only a whisper away.
Thank you for loving us so much that you died for us
while we were yet sinners.
Help us to be like you and not be annoyed or bothered by people,
especially when we don’t know their whole story.
Help us to show mercy and grace to others and be more like you, Jesus.
Amen
Until next time, sweet friends,
Brooke
If you enjoyed reading this post or any of my posts, a few ways you can encourage my writing endeavors is as easy as subscribing, becoming a paid subscriber, buying my next coffee, and sharing my work with others!
What a sweet story, my friend. I am so quick to judge and so easily humbled when I realize I've made too quick a judgment of someone. Thank you for sharing this story!