He who has ears, let him hear...

"...discovering God's will for a human situation requires us to listen to what other people see in that situation. I discovered a long time ago that listening to people who see reality differently than we do is one of the most important parts of discovering God for that reality."
-Lewis Smedes
"My God and I"

Growing up in a very ethno-centric church and school, I can't recall too many people growing up that had a different reality than me. In fact, stepping into a larger world is probably something I still struggle with but am working it. And I will be honest: I do have to work at it. The college I attended had a great poster a few years back that had a picture of fish in a fish bowl on the beach looking out at the large ocean. I know that fish bowl much better than I know the ocean.

I've re-read Smede's quote several times, and have concluded that I don't get into other people's realities for a very simple reason: too scary. I mean, think about that, what might happen to you if you actually try to understand complex issues about our broken and frail lives when all it might do is help you understand the complexity of God's creation more. Do we really want that?

But it seems to me that if we are serious about this whole idea of Shalom and forming right relationships with God and others, then we need to wonder if that is honestly possible when we only consider one reality. Discovering God's will in relationship to complex issues means getting involved in people's busy and messy lives. I think it was easy for me to have opinions about divorce until I knew somebody that was affected by divorce; I think it was easy for me to have an opinion about homosexuality until I met someone who was gay and loved Jesus (and shock of all shocks, Jesus loved them back!). I could've written wonderfully accurate and precise books on raising perfect children until they exposed my deepest weaknesses.

Smedes quote is brilliant, but I don't recommend you take his advice unless you are prepared to hear truth. Truth can be brutal, which is often why it is necessary. Truth can be harsh, which is why it needs to be told in love. We should all worry when we feel we have the corner on The Truth, because chances are we've formed that opinion on our own without considering other realities. And when we don't consider other people's reality--including their very real and broken lives--then we tend to associate truth with judgment, instead of associating truth with words such as justice, love, and mercy.

Excuse me, I think I need to climb back into my fishbowl.