Keeping Up Appearances

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." -- Matthew 18:19-20 NIV

Watching some TV around getting dinner cooked and eaten, we found three different shows that all in some way or another dealt with appearances. I watched a very famous man search for his ancestry. In the process he found that he has white blood in his family line (he's black) that came from his ancestor's slave owner. His family was treated like just another possession; not even as important as the livestock. Next we moved on to a 'news' show and watched as they planted a waiter and customers in a restaurant to gauge the reaction of real patrons. You see, the planted customers were gay and lesbian couples with kids and they had this waiter openly question and berate them until they got a reaction from another patron. At that point, 'news' guy descends on the restaurant and talks to these people about their reaction. Last, we ended up on another news program and learned about albinism and how children around the world are treated simply because they look different.

Searching through the Bible to write this post, I searched for the words 'all' and 'nations' and got back 189 results, including the verse I quoted for you today. That verse is commonly known as The Great Commission, as it was Jesus' instructions to his disciples for all generations to come (that's you and me!). The use of the word 'all', I can't help but notice, means this instruction is quite inclusive. It is careful not to make any discrimination against anyone regardless of their belief, color, gender, wealth, actions, hygiene, lifestyle, or anything else. Even if something about a person is biblically wrong, they aren't excluded from 'all'.

So when did we get so far off the rails on this? When did we get so concerned with how someone looks that we forgot that we're supposed to be Jesus for everyone we come across? I can tell you how I feel and what I believe and why I believe it...and I certainly don't agree with a lot of what goes on in the world, but Jesus' instructions tell me not to worry about all of that and to do what I was created to do.

We can't change everyone's mind all at once on this, but we can make sure we don't contribute to the disease but to the cure. When we show impartiality with our love and kindness, we stand the chance of affecting someone else's mindset, and when that happens is when things begin to change. Remember, Jesus doesn't care what they look like on the outside but He cares immensely about how we all look on the inside.