People often judge someone by their job, background, or the group they belong to. That is the thinking behind “Birds of a feather flock together.” Sometimes, though, the flock tells us very little about the person.
Saint Matthew was a tax collector, a profession widely disliked in his time because it was connected with Roman rule and had a reputation for corruption. But the Gospel does not say Matthew himself was evil or dishonest.
Jesus saw Matthew at the tax booth and said, “Follow me.” Matthew got up and followed Him.
To many people, a tax collector already carried a bad reputation. Jesus saw Matthew as a person.
We still make the same mistake today. We judge people by their circle, profession, family, social class, or group, then assume we already know who they are.
Association is not character, and reputation is not the whole person.
Let’s keep learning the saints’ way—day by day.
⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ
