EXTERIOR BETRAYALS
It's nothing much to look at: the roof is being repaired and half of the building obviously lies dormant. The yellowed newspapers that decorate the windows of the vacated side of the building advertise both the failure of the previous occupant, and the lengthy absence of any new risk-takers. The sign, designed to announce the identity of this place, has been removed and stands leaning against the building. Its utilitarian stature has neither the luxury or excitement of neon.
In a land where location, location, location is everything, this location has nothing. It stands alone on the highway between St. George and Saint John. As you walk into the building, the Formica tables and yellowing walls decorated with food supplier calendars greet you. The final atmospheric element of a rather pungent stale cigarette smell loudly insinuates that opening the door has been a major mistake in judgement. But, to leave before experiencing what this place has to offer would be nothing short of allowing your senses to betray you. You see, below it's unappealing appearance lurks a tag-team of tastebud ticklers that will take you to the savory mat of ecstacy. This place makes Chinese food to die for!
A couple of weeks ago I caught part of the American Film Association's television special that showcased their pick of the top one hundred comedy movies of all time. One of the films that made it into the top ten was "Tootsie". If you haven't seen the movie, it stars Dustin Hoffman as an out of work actor who poses as a woman in order to get work on a soap opera. During the discussion of the movie, Dustin Hoffman was interviewed. He said he was disappointed that his gender makeover didn't turn him into a more attractive woman. Then he made a very poignant comment: he said something like, "When I made this movie, I considered it as a drama, not a comedy. I played this woman who was brilliant, talented and very funny — but not very attractive. As I played her, I realized that there have been many amazing women that I have overlooked in my life simply because they weren't physically attractive to me." With that realization came a quiver to his voice and tears to his eyes. What a wonderful confession! Somehow I think Dustin's not alone in this admission of guilt.
We live in a world where the majority of our efforts are spent on how we look. We spend and expend vast resources and energy to be beautiful. As a result, young women often feel ugly and worthless. Those particularly susceptible to the unfair expectations of our society become the victims of eating disorders. Others pay for the plastic surgeon's knife to fix what, in their estimation, "nature" broke. Meanwhile, who they are inside is ignored, or overlooked. Is it any wonder we've become superficial consumers?
Now, you would think that we as Christians have seen through this kind of societal surface dwelling, but I'm afraid we haven't. We still make estimates of someone's intelligence and character based on their looks. Why is that? Obviously it's very difficult to escape a lifetime of influence that constantly reinforces what is, and isn't, considered beautiful. Such distinctions become part of us and we don't make them so much as we are automatically ruled by them. But, that doesn't mean that we can't learn to value people based on another internal scale of beauty.
1 Samuel 6:7b tells us that "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." As Christians, we've been called to imitate our Heavenly Father . Ephesians 5:1 says, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children" If this is the case, shouldn't we intentionally start to judge ourselves and others by the content and condition of the heart?
I think we all need to shed a tear for those lost opportunities to know someone who was really special — just because they didn't "appear" attractive to us. It's quite possible that the wisest, deepest, most generous of characters ever to wear human skin, have been overlooked by the human eye. If you're not convinced just read these words describing Jesus' appearance: "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Isaiah 53:2,3) How excited would you be about a blind date with someone (man or women) who had a similar description? Something to think about, isn't it!
Last night we, and a friend of ours, took the trek out to the "Plain Pagoda." We had a feast that left us corpulently content. What I find interesting is that Sheila and I drove by this place for the last five years or so, without really giving it a try. We heard people sing it's praises; we saw the cars parked outside its barren facade, but we just didn't believe that heaven could be found in such a plain package. We were wrong, very wrong! We were betrayed by our eyes. What about you? Who have you walked by? Who have you ignored? What precious relationships have slipped through the fingers of your soul just because they weren't found in the prettiest packages? The sad news is that you will never know. The happy news is that there are lots more opportunities left for those who have the right kind of eyes to see.
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