What do you look for in people? What do you hear when people talk? What do you see when you look at people on the news, in church, on the street? The more hurt you are the more negative you are; the more healed you are the more gold you see in people. Self-protected people are deeply wounded people. Can you see past their walls to the pain they are seeking to protect? Can you see past their behavior, bad fruit or sin and see the person inside crying out to be set free?

Proverbs 11:27 says “He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, But he who seeks evil, evil will come to him.” What if your favor that you desire to have with God and man is directly tied to how you see people? Most of us don’t recognize how interconnected everything is. We have been taught favor is not fair, but it is fair, because Solomon says what you look for you find and if you look for gold in others you will find favor with God and people. Luke 2:52 says “Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Jesus always looked for the gold in everyone He met, no wonder He continually increased in favor.

As I sat with six other women for hours the past couple of days, I saw gold in every story they shared, painful stories, powerful stories. Then as they asked me to share my story, I watched them see the gold in me, despite my history. They gained favor with me because of what they saw in me and I hope I gained favor with them because what I saw in them made me love them so much more. My friends, our favor with God and people is directly connected to what we see in God and what we see in people. This can happen when you are watching the news or sitting across the table from someone. Where are the gold diggers? Where are those who can see the gold in people no matter what fruit they are producing? Remember bad fruit Is the result of a hurting/unhealed root.