First Impressions
“As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put away your wine from you.”
First impressions are not always accurate; in fact, sometimes they may be somewhat misleading. Or sometimes they are just plain wrong. They tend to be more off-the-mark when we assume certain things about someone based on initial, casual observation. In this case, Eli, a priest of the Lord, makes a disconnected, casual observation of Hannah and assumed she was drunk. But in reality, she was a woman experiencing deep grief because her womb had been closed for so long, and because her husband’s other wife (who was able to bear children) “used to provoke her grievously to irritate her.” (See verse 6). Partway through verse 9 it says, "Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD." And there he simply observed a very distraught, crying woman whose lips were moving with no audible words coming out of her mouth. She probably seemed a bit hysterical at the moment. So, it does not seem completely unreasonable that Eli would presume that she was drunk.
Let’s face it – we all tend to make assumptions about people based on initial, casual observations. We like to label, categorize, or generally pigeonhole people as quickly as possible to be able to fit them into our mental filing system. We are all guilty of consciously or subconsciously profiling people, whether we like to admit it or not. Profiling is: “the act or process of extrapolating information about a person based on known traits or tendencies,” or, “the act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior” (merriam-webster.com). While often this idea is applied to racial or security considerations, I believe it applies in a much more general sense, as well.
This isn’t always a bad thing. In some ways, it can be helpful as a means of protection. There are certain characteristics or observable behaviors that should alarm us, or at least cause us to keep our guard up. Discernment is a gift from God for us and should be developed and practiced. “The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.” (Proverbs 17:24). And Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
But too often we confuse our quick, initial opinions of people with legitimate discernment, and that quick opinion sometimes leads to undeserved judgment or criticism of the other person – perhaps even to the point of being sinful.
Matthew 7:1-2 – [Jesus speaking] “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”
I fear that way too often we perform this mental profiling of others within the context of the local church. We might make some presumptions about a fellow believer after hearing just a few comments during our initial interaction with them. Within moments of meeting someone for the first time, we may be already trying to categorize them, saying (in our minds, of course):
“Oh, they must come from a Baptist background…”
“Well, they must be hard-core anti-vaxxers…”
“I bet this family home schools…”
“Wow. Here’s another over-the-top charismatic…”
“Does this person even really know Jesus?”
Granted, sometimes a Christian we meet will be very open and come right out and say things directly that reveal what “camp” they are in. But all too often, like Eli, we make our judgments too quickly and without direct evidence. We assume. We profile based on snippets of incomplete information we get from a person (or worse yet, from a different person talking about that person). We don’t take the time to ask questions and really get to know the person. We don’t put in the effort to find out what they’re going through, where they’ve been, and what they believe. We must be very cautious of too quickly – and carelessly – judging someone based on limited input from that person, and we most certainly should withhold judgment based on hearsay or gossip.
“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;… Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”
Hannah wasn’t a drunk. She was a grieving woman pouring her heart out to the Lord in fervent (albeit silent) prayer. Eli missed the mark completely with his initial assessment of her. Let’s not make the same mistake when we interact with others – especially other believers. Let’s be intentional about getting to really know someone, not so that we can more accurately pigeonhole or label them, but so that we can encourage them in the Lord and pray for them and with them in ways specific to their needs. God is not impressed with our ability to categorize people, but He is pleased when we show them compassion and love.
“Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
