Is the person we see, who they really are?

October 2023

We all know we should not judge people on superficialities like the way they look, dress, who they associate with, where they shop, which school they attended, or what car they drive. However, this does not stop us from doing exactly that and, more often than not, we make the wrong assumptions. I am mindful of the aphorism, “People are so judgemental; you can just tell by looking at them!” 

Here are some examples, taken from contemporary life and history, in which appearances are vastly misleading.

The outer appearance:

An older volunteer who sets up readings, furniture, and program sheets for the daily Masses at a local church and is often mistaken for the custodian.

A leading businessman in the city who lives a quiet unassuming life.  

A banker and stockbroker who lived in London, England, in the 1940’s.

A day laborer in his sixties in Alexandria, Egypt, in 600 AD.

The unseen truth:  

This older volunteer is a retired neurosurgeon who was the tenured UBC Professor and Head of Neurosurgery for 12 years at the UBC Division  of Neurosurgery and its hospitals.

This businessman has for years anonymously visited and befriended prisoners both in and out of prison. 

This banker and stockbroker, Nicholas Winton (née Wertheim), assisted in the rescue of 669 children, most of them Jewish, on the eve of World War II. On a brief visit to Czechoslovakia, he helped compile a list of children in danger of  persecution. After returning home, he worked to fulfill the legal requirements of bringing those children to Britain and finding homes and sponsors for them. His humanitarian accomplishments remained unknown and unnoticed by the world for nearly 50 years until 1988.  To see more about his story, watch here on YouTube.   

This day laborer was a monk called Vatalis of Gaza. At the age of sixty, Vitalis traveled to the city of Alexandria, Egypt, where he hired himself out as a day laborer. Legend states that each night he would take his daily wage to one of the many prostitutes in the city and offer her a night’s respite from her work. He would pass the night in conversation and, when she slept, he would pray for her.[This practice was condoned by the Church, and many of the prostitutes he ministered to abandoned their profession and became wives and mothers.

As we walk through life, let us not assume we know someone solely by their outward appearance. All the people mentioned above were followers of Jesus and were being guided by His love and calling on their lives.

“But the LORD said to Samuel, The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Blessings,

Tom