Genesis 20:11
“And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.”
Years ago I held a meeting in Alabama, and the pastor asked me if I wanted to have fried chicken for supper. Fried chicken is one of my favorite meals, so I told him I certainly wanted to go. My wife and I went with the pastor to a small restaurant where the first impression was not the greatest. After eating their fried chicken, I realized that my first impression of the place was completely wrong.
So often people unwisely make a judgment based on their first impression. We look at someone’s personality or make a judgment about a place from its landscape, and our first impression was completely false. On the other hand, many think a person is a great person because they know how to give a good first impression, but we later come to find out that the person isn’t everything they portrayed themselves to be. You must careful about making judgments off first impressions.
It says in the verse above, “And Abraham said, Because I thought…” Abraham made a judgment about a group of people and a place because of his first impression. He thought those people did not fear God. He thought those people would kill him so they could take his wife for themselves. We later find out in the Scriptures that Abraham’s first impression was completely wrong. Abraham should have given those people a chance before he judged them. There are some lessons you can learn from Abraham about first impressions.
First, don’t judge a place by your first impression. Whether good or bad, you need to give a place a chance. Many people end up in a wrong church because their first impression from the buildings made them think it was a good place. Likewise, many people have missed joining a good church because they were in a church that didn’t portray itself real well the first time they were there. Don’t judge a place based off your first impression.
Second, don’t judge people by your first impression. Just because someone has a good personality doesn’t make them a good person. A first impression judges a person by their presentation and not by their character. You would be wise to give yourself time to form your opinion about someone based off their character.
Third, don’t judge someone’s motives based off your first impression. If you’re not careful, you will start judging everyone’s motives based off your first impressions, and by doing so you will make a compete fool out of yourself. You can’t know someone’s motives, and that is why it’s unwise to base your judgment of someone from your impression of their motives. Only time will tell what is truly behind someone’s motives.
Finally, don’t judge a preacher or teacher off your first impression. If you hear a preacher one time and you don’t like him, don’t judge him by that one sermon or lesson. A preacher could have had an off day. A good preacher is a package deal. They may be good on one subject, but the best preacher is one who can Scripturally deal with all subjects.
Friend, it is always best to give a person or place a chance before you judge. First impressions often lead to wrong conclusions. Time always tells the truth, and if you give a person or place some time, you will find out their true character. Once you find out their true character, then you will be able to wisely determine whether you should associate with a person or place. Don’t be guilty of making decisions based off first impressions.