I bring this up because I was reminded this morning of a word that surfaced in my brain some weeks back when we were on our little trip to Scotland. We had visited ashore the day before and had gone through a cathedral, as we often did, looking at the windows, reflecting on the people that sat in those pews in the past or the present.
There were images and traditions that were foreign to our church at home, and I wondered about the lives and hearts of those folks who frequented that sanctuary. How did God see them?
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I don't remember how this word came to my mind, but there it was; a word that I would not ordinarily use but I did know and could appreciate its meaning. The word was disparage, a word the dictionary defines like this:
"to bring reproach or discredit upon; lower the estimation of:
The clear message to me that morning was: "Do not look down or question the motives of people that you do not even know. Don't question their motives or actions, especially in the realm of religion and worship. You do not see them as God does. You can't see their heart or fathom their reasoning. You don't need to judge. Just because they seem different from you, they are important to God."
So, as I look around that room in that prison, I will try to remember that word and resolve not to do it. No matter the outward appearance, the tattoos, the earrings, the hard faces or the apparent attitudes, they are human beings, made in the image of God. They deserve more than disparagement or dismissal, and they could be much closer to God than any stranger that looks on them there.
Jesus says in John 8:
“He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone"
I'm not throwing that first stone, no way.
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