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Jury duty has come and gone. How did I fare? After an hour and a half car drive on a congested freeway, which should have only taken a half hour, I arrived at the court house via a short ride from the parking garage in a large coach bus filled to capacity. Arriving early at the garage, I was the first one on the bus. I sat in the front and watched each person step up and find a seat. Immediately I found myself attempting to read each face, thought twice about it, and realized how judging appearances is so ingrained in me.
I sat on a generic chair that had just enough cushion to keep my bottom and top from going to sleep. About three hundred prospective jurors sat uncomfortably in a large room called the "Juror Assembly Room." At 9:15 a.m. they began reading off seventy-five names, assigning numbers, and directing them to another room called the "Quiet Room." I wondered if they had more comfortable chairs. It certainly wasn't quite in our room with everyone shifting in their seat.
My name not being called, I patiently waited for the next phase of what I had anticipated would be a long and nervous day. I had become anxious after reading the proposed itinerary for the main trial. It would involve at least a week of jury selection, to be followed by a three month trial. I had only anticipated a one to four day trial, most likely not being chosen and fulfilling Arizona's "One-day" obligation. .
We were all given the opportunity of saying yes or no to the long trial commitment. Having Chronic fatigue for eleven years has had severe physical effects on my health. I haven't been able to work on a regular basis. I wanted to say yes, but knew the possibility of becoming sick during the trial could be an inconvenience to the court and uncomfortable for myself. As people answered "no" when their name was called, a woman that sat across from me just shook her head. I assumed this was a gesture of disgust, she would acknowledge a dutiful yes when called upon. I inwardly struggled with the right decision while maintaining dignity. The few responding with a "yes" received applause from some of the jurors. Normally, I would have succumbed to the peer pressure, rising to the occasion in order to please people's expectations while receiving accolades.
When my name was finally called I answered with a firm "no!" immediately I felt relieved. I knew I had made the right decision. To my surprise when the name of the lady that sat across from me was called she said, "no" confirming to me that conclusive evidence can't be derived from a person's expressions. After calling seventy-five more names for another trial--again I was not on the list--they brought the ones forward that had committed to the lengthy trial, then dismissed the rest of us, having only been there for less than half a day.
So I didn't get the opportunity to be on a jury trial. However, I did learn the importance of not reading anything into people's faces, trusting my instincts about myself and committing to a proper decision without being unduly influenced by people or my own desire to do more than I am physically capable of performing. The Lord takes us through practical experiences in order to teach applicable truths. Expressions are subjective reactions of inner responses to external circumstances. Our objective judgments are biased by our own preconceptions that hold no basis for truth. Because only God can see the heart, He is the only One capable of rendering true judgment. We are assuming the role of God when we judge a person's heart based on our own reasoning. Shalom
I sat on a generic chair that had just enough cushion to keep my bottom and top from going to sleep. About three hundred prospective jurors sat uncomfortably in a large room called the "Juror Assembly Room." At 9:15 a.m. they began reading off seventy-five names, assigning numbers, and directing them to another room called the "Quiet Room." I wondered if they had more comfortable chairs. It certainly wasn't quite in our room with everyone shifting in their seat.
My name not being called, I patiently waited for the next phase of what I had anticipated would be a long and nervous day. I had become anxious after reading the proposed itinerary for the main trial. It would involve at least a week of jury selection, to be followed by a three month trial. I had only anticipated a one to four day trial, most likely not being chosen and fulfilling Arizona's "One-day" obligation. .
We were all given the opportunity of saying yes or no to the long trial commitment. Having Chronic fatigue for eleven years has had severe physical effects on my health. I haven't been able to work on a regular basis. I wanted to say yes, but knew the possibility of becoming sick during the trial could be an inconvenience to the court and uncomfortable for myself. As people answered "no" when their name was called, a woman that sat across from me just shook her head. I assumed this was a gesture of disgust, she would acknowledge a dutiful yes when called upon. I inwardly struggled with the right decision while maintaining dignity. The few responding with a "yes" received applause from some of the jurors. Normally, I would have succumbed to the peer pressure, rising to the occasion in order to please people's expectations while receiving accolades.
When my name was finally called I answered with a firm "no!" immediately I felt relieved. I knew I had made the right decision. To my surprise when the name of the lady that sat across from me was called she said, "no" confirming to me that conclusive evidence can't be derived from a person's expressions. After calling seventy-five more names for another trial--again I was not on the list--they brought the ones forward that had committed to the lengthy trial, then dismissed the rest of us, having only been there for less than half a day.
So I didn't get the opportunity to be on a jury trial. However, I did learn the importance of not reading anything into people's faces, trusting my instincts about myself and committing to a proper decision without being unduly influenced by people or my own desire to do more than I am physically capable of performing. The Lord takes us through practical experiences in order to teach applicable truths. Expressions are subjective reactions of inner responses to external circumstances. Our objective judgments are biased by our own preconceptions that hold no basis for truth. Because only God can see the heart, He is the only One capable of rendering true judgment. We are assuming the role of God when we judge a person's heart based on our own reasoning. Shalom
Makes me think of what Yeshua said in John 7. The Message renders it like this: Jesus said, " I did one miraculous thing a few months ago, and you're still standing around getting all upset, wondering what I'm up to. Moses prescribed the circumcision- originally it came not from Moses but from His ancestors- and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one part of his body,even if it's the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one item in the man's whole body well on the Sabbath? Don't be nitpickers; use your head- and heart!- to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right.
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