Do You See With Eyes Of Judgement or Compassion?

Kerrville Daily Time Article

by Kathleen Maxwell

How do you see others? Do you see their faults instead of the good in them? Are you quick to see someone and make a judgement about them and their situation verses asking God how he sees them? If so, you might need to take another look, perhaps consider some new spiritual glasses and seeing with the eyes of God.

I have recently been studying the passage in I Samuel 1 as part of a class. It has challenged and encouraged me. I Samuel is about Hannah, her husband, Elkanah, Eli the priest and Pininnah-Elkanah’s other wife. To set the stage, if you haven’t heard the story, Pininnah had many sons and Hannah had none. Yearly, they made a trip to worship and make a sacrifice. I Samuel 1:5 says, “But to Hannah, Elkanah gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.” (NIV) What stood out to me is that Hannah was dearly loved and her husband had great compassion for her. He didn’t love her for what she could give to him, he simply loved her. This is a good thing for any husband to consider. I had a man that loved me well for 30 years before he passed away and I will certainly not settle for anything less in the future.

Notice from the scripture that God closed Hannah’s womb. God, in his great wisdom, had not allowed Hannah to conceive. For some reason, this was His design for her — He had called her to a special task. He doesn’t state why. “Why?” is not the key question, “what?” is a much better question. The question I have learned to ask is “What can I learn from this situation, God?” instead of “Why me?” I recently felt God say to me personally when I was questioning Him about something in my life, “Kathleen, when I design something, it is beautiful because I designed it.” Case closed. He is God and I am not. My opinion needed to change, not his.

I Samuel 1:6 says, “And because the Lord had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year.”(NIV) Pininnah was giving Hannah more grief than she already had. Hannah was already struggling with her identity as a woman, the grief of infertility and then the other woman rubs it in her face. Perhaps you have someone in your life like that? I know I have struggled in my own grief at times and had people unknowingly (at least I choose to believe they were not intentional) add more pain to my plate. Pininnah was what I call Hannah’s grace grower. Hannah had a choice in how to react to her rival. Hannah’s name actually means “gracious.” I believe Hannah did not react in her flesh, but allowed her grace grower to make her more gracious. Hannah used her problem to develop her character.

We can all learn from this example.

When I am gone from this earth, I want to be known as a woman that loved others well. I have a personal value statement that is, “I am what I love, not what loves me.” It is a decision that I have made that defines me. I have grace growers, also known as irritating people in my life, and sometimes I have to preach to myself and say, “ Kathleen, you gotta love ‘um.” It is my way of reminding myself that any other behavior is not acceptable for me. 

I have also been known to ask God “just give me five minutes in the flesh and I could handle this.” He never gives me permission which is a good thing as I am sure I would regret it.

I Samuel 1:10 says, “In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord.” (NIV) Hannah went to the temple to pour out her grief to the Lord. She made a wise choice to go to church and worship in her grief, however, her grief was misinterpreted. The religious leader didn’t see what God saw. Eli made a quick judgement, thought Hannah wasn’t in her right mind and thought she was drunk. At a time when she needed comfort and encouragement he totally misunderstood the anguish of her soul. In Eli’s defense, how could he understand the pain of a woman’s barrenness? On the other hand, there are people that come to church, searching for help to get through another day.  This is a good reminder to all of us to ask God, “How do you see this person, and how can I encourage them?” Everyone needs understanding and encouragement.

Hannah responds to Eli’s accusation with, “Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of the great anguish and grief.” Not only was she heart sick that she couldn’t have a baby but she was also being tormented by her rival.  Eli had no idea what was really going on in her life and misunderstood her. His judgement made her feel worthless when she was already struggling with her identity as a woman.  This had to feel like an insult to injury as Eli was someone in the church she trusted. We must not make a judgement about what we see on the outside.

I believe God is calling all of us to a higher standard of stepping back in our spirit and asking God how he sees someone instead of making a quick assumption with our natural eye and out of our limited experience. What Hannah really needed was encouragement and compassion. I know that sometimes in my hurried life, I have been guilty of making a judgement from a snapshot of someone and giving a quick statement when I should have asked God what I could say to encourage and comfort someone. Jesus was moved with compassion. When we see someone with the eyes of God we see them with affection, we see the best in them and see them through the eyes of love.

Our community is a retirement community, and we have many widows and widowers. It is imperative that we comfort and encourage  those that have lost someone they love as they attempt to make a new life and redefine themselves as single individuals. As a widow of two years, I have had people comfort me and encourage me to pick up the pieces of my life. I am forever grateful for those friends.  Like Hannah, I have also felt at times my grief has been misunderstood by those that have not experienced the loss of a mate or the depth of my personal anguish. The misunderstanding has added more pain for me to dig through at a time when I really didn’t need anymore pain. 

We must first see ourselves as God sees us before we can see others as God sees them. When we see as He sees, we give people the power to become better people. We see the treasure in them instead of what is worthless in them. Imagine how different our community would be if we saw and treated people like God. The Hill Country would be amazing. 

Will you repent today of making a quick snapshot judgement of others and ask God to reveal truth to you? Will you join me in looking for those you can comfort and encourage instead of misunderstanding them and judging them? I can’t wait to see what  Kerrville will become. It will be amazing!