Neighbors We Remain
“How’s that? Better here or here? What about here or here? Ok. Is it better here or here?” Click. “Okay. How about this? Is it better here or here? Okay. Is it better with 1 or 2? 2 or 1?” Click. “Okay, read the smallest line possible.”
I don’t know if you’ve had this experience yet, but it is a regular occurrence in my life. I vividly remember the day I got my first pair of glasses. I also remember the first time I put those glasses on in front of my friends and classmates. It was a horrible moment. But, I digress. . .
The good thing about the glasses is that I could see. I mean, like, really see. I could see colors and details like never before. Did you know that trees have leaves? It’s not just a big glob of colors. Yeah, glasses made that much difference for me in 3rd grade. I could also see the chalkboard (Yes, I’m that old) and write down the correct math problems. Wow. What a difference. Seeing clearly allowed me to get better grades and made school easier.
Wearing glasses also made school harder in some ways. This was before they made cool glasses for kids. My first pair of glasses had lenses big enough for me to use them as mini-snack plates. I mean, I could use them to catch the sun and light things on fire. A few times, I was able to pick up satellite channels. Yeah, they were that big.
I also had a football eye. No, not because I loved football that much, but because one of my eyes is shaped like a football. Thus, seeing is even more difficult because of how my eye receives light. Ugh.
What do my eyes have to do with anything? Well, we all see and interact with the world through our own lenses. What impacts our lenses? Our childhood home experiences growing up (sports, music, arts, 4H), education, community, pains, shame, regrets, and spiritual inclination. These lenses determine our understanding and behavior. Most importantly, our lenses determine how we live in community. Jesus teaches us how to display our faith in him when he says, ‘Love others as well as you love yourself’ (Matthew 22:39, MSG).
This seems simple, but it is not. Why? We are selfish. Our neighbors are not like us. Our neighbors may not be friendly. Our neighbors may even be our enemies.
As crucial as glasses are for the eyesight impaired, we need to get the lenses of our heart, soul, and mind, too. Who is your neighbor? How are you treating them? Are you saying things about them in front of them that you say behind their backs? Even after November 5 - we are still neighbors.