Good Snakes???

So, a friend sent me this pic of her neighbor’s backyard in South Carolina.  After my rapid heartbeat returned to normal and the screaming stopped, I said, “Are you kidding me?” – a few  expletives omitted!  She replied, “Oh, this is a good snake, you want these, they keep the bad snakes out!”

Let me begin by stating quite clearly that I do not want any snakes in my world.

Not good snakes
Not bad snakes
Not green snakes
Not black snakes
Not large snakes
Not small snakes

(Dr. Seuss has nothing to worry about from me!)

But…..it got me thinking.

How often do I rush to judgment based on someone’s appearance?  It could be the way they dress, how many tattoos they have, their manner of speech, their beliefs or anything else that triggers an opinion in my mind.  When I judge others I am no longer free.  I am bound to that judgement and that blinds me from seeing someone as they are.  It’s a tricky thing because most times our opinions are formed before we are even conscious of them, but oh, just imagine a judgement-free world.

Jesus didn’t judge the Samaritan woman or the rich young man, he didn’t even judge his accusers.  

Exercise for the week (and hopefully longer): love first!

And, maybe some of those ‘bad snakes’ in my life will become ‘good snakes.’