Skin…in looking at this picture I am sure you all had some sort of reaction. Some probably laughed because it’s kind of funny. Some of you probably had pity on me in some small way thinking “oh….poor boy has arms that looked all ripped apart.” Others may just be plain grossed out. A few of you probably thought of ways I could have prevented getting a sunburn that would lead to my skin looking like this. Meanwhile others are probably thinking what I should do now to take care of the skin that is sensitive while the old stuff peels or scabs away. Some of those who saw my arms before they started peeling probably thought it looked better than my normal pasty white color. One of my students said that this was a good thing because it is special to be one person with 2 colors of skin…
So what do I think?
I think the skin I peel off is dead…I also think that skin replacing it underneath looks fresh and new and clean but in the end most of that outer layer is made up of dead cells as well. I think that it is ironic that it is the dead parts of our body that we tend to take the most time to try to make look good or presentable. Some spend countless hours on tanning beds in America or using whitening cream here in Cambodia to get the desired skin color of white. Others spend ridiculous hours on their hair until it looks just right. I’ve known of girls who take a tremendous amount of time and effort on their nails. Is this wrong? No, I’m not out to be offensive to those of you who take care of yourself J I just find it intriguing how we as humans spend so much time on our outward appearance. To me this is ironic because most of our outermost layer of actual body is already dead. Yet this is the part of us we tend to take the most care of and often times is the part we are most attracted to or disgusted by in others…isn’t that weird?
Jesus called out some Pharisees by telling them that they spend so much time cleaning the outside of the cup but it’s what’s inside that really matters. How much of the time do we spend trying to mask or beautify the spiritual areas of our lives that are already dead? How often do we care about numbers in our church or bible study? How often are we motivated by who is watching, what we will get out of it, or to check it off of the personal list of spiritual things we’ve done? How often do we evaluate a ministry or a church or an individual based solely on first impressions and outward appearance? How often do we make it to the heart…ours or there’s?
Do we try to live by standards that will separate us from the rest of the world for the sake of separating us from the world? Do we fall into the trap of welcoming anyone and everyone (or at least most people) who are finally willing and wanting to be like us…or can we look past the exterior to meet them where they are at and love them for who they are and who they were created to be? Have we taken that Earthly model of how cliques are formed and tried to make spiritual ones in the same mold? Are we really shallow enough to only accept those who look, act and talk like us?
For the record I am not accusing any of you or condemning any of you. These are questions I am challenged by as I find myself in areas of the world where once again I’m the one who is different…I’m the one who doesn’t quite fit a mold. Do I welcome others with open arms regardless of who they are? Am I a respecter of persons? If a poor beggar and a king both said thank you to me would I hold them in the same regard? Would I be more touched by the king? Would I be more touched by the beggar? If the same two were upset at me for something I felt compelled to do or say would I still have the same reaction?
Anyway, what brings life? That is what I want my life to be about. I don’t want to define myself or take interest when others define me simply by the parts of me that are already dead…I want to get deeper than that…I want to come fully alive and I would delight in having company J
