don’t judge a banana by its peel

Story: The other morning while making breakfast, I thought hmmm… YES A SMOOTHIE!!! I went to see what kind of fruit I could find to make it. I had some frozen fruit and then I kept looking and noticed I had one banana left. Let me put it this way… the banana did not have a pretty, bright yellow peel anymore. Quick description: the banana was more brown than it was yellow, if you can only imagine that. haha I continued to look at it, questioning whether or not I should put what appeared to be a nasty, mushy banana in my smoothie. I was highly considering throwing it away, but then I was like what a waste, besides I was just going to put it in a blender anyways! So I decided to go ahead and use it. I peeled back the nasty, brown peel and I was immediately taken back. Wow some of you might think I am a complete loser by being amazed by a freakin’ banana but right there in front of my eyes was the most perfect banana. It did not have any marks nor was it mushy at all. You might ask me why I am sitting here on a Sunday night writing about a banana. Well here’s why: We can’t judge a banana by its peel, just like we can’t judge a person by how they look.

Okay okay okay, we’ve all heard the cliche saying… Don’t judge someone by how they look. But think about it. Well from my perspective… I am a girl in college. Yes I spends lots of late nights up studying and trying to get as much out of a day as I can…many of you know what I am talking about. The next morning my alarm screaming in my ear at 7:10 am is not my ideal morning but I drag my tired body out of bed, knowing that if I don’t leave in 15 minutes I will not be able to find a parking space on campus. I brush my teeth and throw on the biggest sweatshirt and a pair of leggings (yes, I am typical) and rush out the door. I’ll just say it… I look like a straight bum. But does that truly show who I am? Does what I wear or how my hair looks or the fact that my socks don’t match define who I am? Did that banana peel reveal what the banana was like on the inside? HECK NO! I think as a society we like judging people by what they look like or what accessories they have or what kind of car they drive…. those material things do not define who they are. Would God judge us for how we look ? Would he say hmmm I don’t love you because you look like death? HECK NO! What is important is what is on the inside. The heart. He cares about our heart. What defines who we are is what is on the inside. Our heart defines us. God looks at our heart. He wants us to look to our own hearts and the hearts of others to truly learn who we are and who others are. If we start searching people’s hearts, our relationships will become a lot deeper and more intimate and less surface level and based on materials. Your heart is beautiful and God knows that!

Scripture:

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” – 1 Peter 3:3-4

‘”But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”‘ – Samuel 16:7

So, let me remind you….Your outward appearance does not define you. Ultimately, your heart defines you. Do not let your heart become hard and judge by appearance but have a gentle heart that loves getting to know other people’s hearts.

Thank you Jesus for bananas…. it really is the little things in life that can teach us huge lessons.

Quick Story Behind the Picture:

My sister and I do this really fun thing every time we go shopping together where we pick out a ridiculous outfit for each other to try on (we literally look for the most non matching items).  I thought it was the perfect picture for this blog because even though we are in crazy, not matching at all clothes….those things are just external.

~~Moorea~~