Mystery Soup

Mystery Soup

1 Samuel 16:6-13

The front door slammed as Juan arrived home from school. When he didn’t come searching for her as usual, his mom checked on him. “What’s wrong?” she asked the glum-faced boy sitting on the sofa.

Juan scowled. “I have to work on a social studies project with that new boy, Stefan,” he mumbled. “You should see him. His pants are too short, his socks never match, and his hair’s always a mess.”

“But what makes you think he wouldn’t be a good project partner?” asked Mama.

“I just told you,” grumbled Juan. “If you could see him, you wouldn’t need to ask.”

Just then there was a loud clunk. They both hurried to the kitchen, where they found Juan’s two-year-old brother, Carlos, surrounded by cans from the cupboard, many with the labels peeled off. “Oh, no,” moaned Mama, looking at the mess. After thinking a moment, she said, “Juan, you can help me. Would you tape the labels back on these cans, please? I want them done neatly.”

“But which label goes on which can?” asked Juan.

“Don’t worry about that,” Mama said. “Just make sure they look nice. Then let’s have one that says ‘Corn’ for dinner.”

“But Mom,” protested Juan, “if you just slap the labels on any old can, the outside might not match what’s inside.”

“So the outside appearance isn’t really important, is it?” asked Mama. She smiled at Juan. “That’s something you ought to remember. You’ve already judged Stefan because of how he looks. You’ve slapped a label on him without knowing what’s on the inside. Find out what Stefan is like as a person—don’t just judge him by his looks.”

Juan thought about it. “Maybe I should get to know him,” he decided. “But what are you going to do about these cans?”

Mama laughed. “I guess we’ll be having mystery soup for a while.” SPZ

How about You?

Do you judge people by the way they look or dress? Do you label them without finding out what is inside? God doesn’t judge on outward appearances, and neither should we. It’s important to try to discover what’s in the heart.

Memorize:

“The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Don’t Judge by Appearance