Looks Can Be Deceiving

I was a teller at a bank once. A man and his wife came in often. They always looked very poor, because they dressed in old worn clothes and shoes. They looked shabby. The woman could not read or sign her name. She made the letter X in place of her name. I had to use a special bank stamp which proved I saw her make the X on their checks.

All the other customers stared at them. They would have been very shocked to know that this couple had a lot of money. I have no idea how they had so much money or why they dressed as if they had very little. I have no idea why the woman could not read or sign her name. I always thought to myself, “If you other customers who are staring at them only knew.”

Recently at the grocery store I needed some help finding something. I approached a worker who was a young, pretty woman. She had long fake eyelashes and long fake fingernails that were painted green. She wore lots of jewelry and sparkly clothes. She was full of glam and bling, totally the opposite of the couple at the bank. She was also very smart, efficient, courteous and had a great customer service attitude. I wondered if some people didn’t approach her for help due to her glitzy appearance.

All of us have judged someone or something incorrectly. We judged the book by its cover. Each of us has probably been misjudged by others.