THE ART OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Peter was able to command the attention of the crowd to explain what was going on. He debunked the idea of them being drunk since it was so early in the morning (vv. 14–41).
Pitfalls of First Impressions
Often, we are not given the opportunity to explain our actions after a first impression. We can be pegged as a particular kind of person or personality, and it can be quite challenging to come back from it.
This is unfortunate because some excellent people deserve a second chance in relationship. The question is, are we willing to treat others how we would want to be treated by giving others that second chance even if we were not given that same honor?
When we tell someone they need to do something to “impress” us in thirty seconds or less, we are basing our potential future on half a minute. It is impos- sible to know anything more than where someone came from and what they do for a living in thirty seconds. First impressions are so fragile. It is truly unfair to base a decision on pursuing a relationship with someone who may have had difficulty with that one chance to “impress.”
This brings up another question— who are we trying to impress? If we are trying to impress someone, we leave the judgment in his or her hands. If we are trying to honor God in our relationships, we leave the judgment in the hands of the One who has the right to judge. God takes our relationships very seriously. How we treat others can say a lot about how much we value God’s view of us. This is not just about first impressions; it is about the condition of our hearts and how we view others. What if God handled us the same way we treat others? Most of us…no, all of us would be doomed.
Why do we place so much emphasis on our “first impressions,” anyway? Are we really that skilled at determining who someone is by the first few minutes we spend with them? I mean, we know that first impressions have a lot to do with what mood we are in when we meet someone. If you are happy when you meet someone, your outlook is brighter, and you may be able to assess someone in a shorter amount of time. If you are sad when you meet someone, the opposite may be true.
The concept of speed-dating is an excellent example of this. If you get ten to fifteen people of each gender into a room and give them three minutes to talk to each other, then ask them to assess which person they would rather spend more time with going forward, there are many factors in play that could skew the results.² First, although we were taught not to judge a book by its cover, we