Hal Wilson’s Blog

“Look at that street person coming toward us,lets cross the street”.Have you ever been guilty of this?I know I have.Perhaps we all,from time to time,prejudge others. I can think of a number of times when I was both the one being judged as well as the person judging.Last Saturday ,a week ago, my brother Tim and I were returning to Naples Fl.from Key West on the final leg of a 4 day motorcycle trip, riding a couple of 07 Harley Ultra classic touring bikes[AWESOME].During the first 3 days of our adventure,neither one of us wore sun screen,after all it was only 86 degrees and sunny and we were only running about 75 to 80 MPH.Needless to say our arms and faces were cooked and were starting to blister when we arrived at the Hampton Inn in Naples.Additionally we were filthy dirty and had not shaved in 5 days and were wearing jeans and black harley shirts.As you can imagine we didn’t look like bankers.When we approached the desk clerk we were looked at with a mild degree of total disgust and were spoken to in much the same manner.Tim and I were quite amused,in that one of the Harleys probably cost more than the clerk made in a year. Another time when I had the opportunity to judge someone else occured 4 or 5 years ago,when an elderly gentleman walked in my office,dressed in old shabby clothes,a piece of rope holding up his pants instead of a belt.He was also quite fond of chewing tabacco,as it was running down his chin.When he walked in I assumed that he was down on his luck and needed a handout.How wrong I was!After I greeted him and invited him to sit down I discovered that he had just received a letter and brochure from me asking to buy his house.Long story short,I did buy his house,Which I resold very quickly and made a nice profit.He was very excited because he could now move into a new home his children had built for him.The whole deal was a win-win and every one was happy.Whenever I am tempted to prejudge someone I try to remember some of my past experiences.

In todays society  we are all judged by what others see and hear of us.Some reflective questions we might want to ask ourselves:#1How do we judge a person in a new luxury car,BMW,Benz etc?How about an old ragged car?Remember Sam Walton and the old pickup truck he drove?I think many times the luxury car is leased and the driver is broke.When I went broke many years ago, I had ladder racks on the roof of my luxury car,as I had started painting houses for a living.[this was just before it was repossesed] As my friend Dave Ramsey says many Americans are going into debt to impress people they dont even know.#2What doyou think when you see a shabbly dressed individual?I try to think how Jesus was dressed during his life on earth.When someone comes up to me and asks for money I offer to buy them something to eat.It’s surprising how many take me up on my offer.Remember”When I was hungry”?By doing this it helps you and them.#3 I couldn’t close without mentioning motorcycle riders.How do you react when a biker pulls up along side of you?I would encourage you to look their way and give them a thumbs up.

In closing,I would like to again thank you for your continued prayers and support.They mean more to me than you’ll ever know.Also,please join me in in thinking positive thoughts this week,especially as it relates to people we see and meet.

Please join us on our blog next week when I will be discussing “Devastating significant events”Thanks and God bless,Hal

 .