A Book by it's Cover

I've spent my entire life having people jump to snap decisions about my character based on where I lived, who my family was, who I hung out with etc...but the one judgement that has always bothered me the most was when people judged me by how I look. Usually these type of judgements were based on me being disabled therefore I somehow needed more help then most people or needed to be prayed for just because I'm disabled. I smiled and thanked them but silently wondered why being in a wheelchair meant I was in need of special prayers when there are plenty people out there in much worse situations than mine. In fact I feel lucky that my situation wasn't as bad as it could have been. 

So I guess when I learn that someone has an issue with me based solely on my physical appearance I get particularly defensive and feel the need to prove them wrong. For example when a really good friend of mine began dating a girl that "hated midgets because they were mean" (her words not mine) I felt the overwhelming desire to prove her wrong. Not just for my sake but for every other little person she was judging based solely on our height. Needless to say I lost that battle and I rarely hear from my friend anymore but I am glad I at least attempted to try and change her judgement.

As a result of all the times I've been judged based on my looks I often ponder  "Why do people judge a book by it's cover?" If we all made the extra effort to dig deeper than how someone looks before judging them would there be less conflict and crimes based on hate? 

Maybe growing up being so different from the norm made me want to focus on who people were instead of what made them different than me. If that's the case than I can truly say that I am thankful that God made me the way I am because I love the way I get to know people and that it has allowed me to have a wide variety of friends that all enrich my life in different ways.