It seems like the past several months we keep being shown the worst of society. No matter where we look, what news channel, what websites, whatever, it’s an at times overwhelming sense of the dregs of society. The media bend the curve, but it seems each of them bend the curve toward humanity’s least proud behaviors. Obviously, that must pay the bills for them, and yet it can be demoralizing in the extreme. In candor, I’ve significantly diminished my consumption of news in all forms, including social media, over the past few months. It just feels at times like too much. Too much negative. Too much weight.
I don’t mean to sound depressing, and I fully recognize that the emphasis of news has generally tended toward the negative more than the positive. At least in my fifty-something years of life that seems to be the case. The old adage that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” seems to hit the mark. At some level, we see what we look for, and if anything is true in our world of immediately-accessible information, one thing is for sure … we can choose to get bogged down in the negative news of the day. But we can also find better.
We can see the part of our humanity that does take time to love and help and bless one another the way the Bible commands us to. There is ample evidence that society consists in more than just the dregs. If we have the eyes to see, we can find numerous examples of folks doing the right things by other folks. It’s truly in the eye of the beholder. We … you and I … are the beholders.
If we look hard enough, there are some cool and heartwarming examples of all kinds of people doing all kinds of good. I’m not advocating us sticking our heads in the sand or covering up our eyes and ears to avoid seeing the harsh realities around us. We actually have to be aware of what’s real and true. But I guess my point is, we should seek not only a real view, but a complete view.
Like the musician in New Orleans who is trading people in the area trumpets for their guns, just to get guns out of the hands of kids. A sweet couple from Texas who have beaten multiple health challenges together motivated by not missing an anniversary celebration together. A quick search will find many more sources and I suspect I’ll be checking those more often and enjoying some good news more frequently.
But more than that … clearly it’s important to see the good that’s out there, and to focus on it being in the eye of the beholder. What’s more important, in my estimation, is to be the right types of folks doing the right types of things.
Truly we can conclude that the beauty in our world is in the eye of the beholder, but what if each of us commits to more frequently being those who do beautiful things in our world that other beholders can behold? If the journey of a thousand miles really begins with a single step, could it be true as well that transforming what is seen of our world with the eye of the beholder begins with a single one of us choosing to do a single act of selflessness? Could that actually have the benefit of bending the most important curve there is to bend? Could that help change the narrative? You bet! But how can we do that?
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
These two passages aptly help us decipher both why we should do it and how we should do it.
Why do we do it? We do it to please God, and to bless His people. There’s an important clarification that I should make, though; we don’t do such things to somehow earn God’s favor. We can’t do anything to earn His favor. He gives us His favor freely (His grace and His mercy), simply out of His infinite love for us. We can’t add to that or subtract from it. We do it as a consequence of His love. And whether or not it’s seen or unseen by other people, it’s seen by HIM.
How do we do it? It’s actually something we don’t do by our own accord. It’s by His power, by His strength, at work in our lives. When we’re fully committed to Him, He supernaturally gives us an ability to accomplish more with even our small gestures and actions. It’s kind of like trying to lift a really heavy weight … we might be able to do it on our own, but with help we can lift quite a bit more.
Sounds impossible? Matthew 19:26 reminds us, “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
The bottom line …
If there’s something we need more of right now, it’s to behold good news. To view the good that is actually happening out there, even if it’s not what generates news ratings or stirs up viewers on a website. Moreover, we can contribute and add to the good. We need to provide the eyes of the beholders with faith-filled love and service that is actually worth beholding. The eye of the beholder is ultimately dependent on you and me contributing good to behold. We do it for God and we do it by God. All He asks us to do is to be available for His work. Anytime we do so, the eye of the beholder … our eyes … will see His glory and handiwork.
Soli Deo gloria!
MR
Renewal 