July 10, 2006

The Better To See You With...

My dad was an alcoholic and there were times when he drank that he physically abused my mom. While mom wore dark colored glasses to cover up a black eye, I as a child, had to wear rose colored glasses and look the other way. I see a similar situation in the church today. Embarrassed that the family of God is sometimes dysfunctional, we put on dark colored glasses to cover up a spiritual black eye. And then of course, looking through rose colored glasses we proclaim the church to be one big happy family where everyone is in agreement. If the only time we take off our glasses is to look in the mirror, we can save face and keep secrets. However, removing our glasses in front of others exposes the truth. I’m thinking contact lenses might help the look and the vision of the church!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Gail;
----Your illustration of the rose colored glasses and the hidden abuse brought together in my mind two scriptures:
--In I Corinthians 14 Paul states that everything in the church should be done decently and in order,
--And in Ephesians 4 Paul tells everyone to speak the truth with his neighbor.
----There is a time for the truth to be presented openly, and I think that involves decency and orderliness. I believe that that time regards the good the truth can bring upon the situation. I believe that the motivation for taking the glasses off is toward the healing of the situation.
----Although I am now blamed for taking my glasses off in order to embarass the contemporary leaders, my ambitions were for the healing of the abused church. Those who know me know this. I would pray that the wastebasket be passed around the church to collect the rest of the glasses. The only way the brusing will end is for the bruses to be seen.