Jack Black plays a ridiculously shallow man continually chasing after hot girls with little substance. After a strange meeting in an elevator, his perception is dramatically changed so that he only sees people for their heart and inner beauty. Nothing around him actually changes, only the way he views things.
He meets several gorgeous and interesting women, and quickly falls in love with a very overweight woman who has a great personality, (because he is seeing her as Gwyneth Paltrow) ...and all his friends are totally confused. This woman works with children at a hospital, so he goes with her to visit them. The kids are adorable, and he’s great with them and builds them up. They play and joke around, and it’s all cute and fun. Gwyneth seems really impressed with him, which I assumed was just because it’s always nice when men are good with kids!
Toward the end of the movie, his perception is changed back to “normal.” Suddenly he realizes that all the women he’s been so captivated by are far from physical perfection. He messes up the only good relationship he’s ever had… then slowly realizes he is in love with who she is regardless of how she looks… and rushes to the hospital to find her. While he’s frantically looking for her, this little girl starts talking to him, and he turns around when he realizes she knows his name. The camera turns to the little girl, whose face and body are horribly scarred on one side. And it finally dawns on him that he is in the Pediatric Burn Unit, and that these are the adorable awesome kids he was hanging out with just days before. That scene really got me.
As I said before, I’ve had Bells Palsy in the past. I know what it feels like to know that you look different and strange, and that everyone around you views you a bit differently. That you’re probably being talked about behind your back. To not want to laugh or smile because you feel everyone is judging you, and to never want to be in any pictures. I know that my cousin is dealing with that type of inner pain every day. As are many cancer patients or paralysis victims all over the world. They may be tempted to isolate themselves, but they need support and encouragement and genuine friendship. They need people who can look past the surface and love them for who they are! We are called to BE those people.
It's so hard for people (myself included) to look past the surface. Men look at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. I want so much to begin to see everyone through the eyes of God. There are verses that say we have the mind of Christ. That God has placed a new heart in us. That we are new creatures in Him and our old nature has died.
This means it is possible – not easy – but possible, for Christians to truly walk in love with everyone around us. To look beneath the surface and see people for who they are. To acknowledge that those who hurt us have probably been deeply hurt in ways we know nothing about, and to respond in love and not be easily offended. To stop judging by appearances or by what is popular in the world.
Nothing around us has changed. But God can alter our perception so that we see everyone around us through the eyes of the One who died to save them. I want that so much! The world NEEDS that.
Obviously, it is easier for us to judge. To seek revenge or hold a grudge when we’ve been hurt. To avoid those who seem strange and might hurt our reputation. To gossip. To slander. To be petty. To stick with our close group and not branch out to help those who are hurting. But we’re not called to what is easy.
Joyce Meyer talks about how mean and stubborn and irritating and hard-hearted she used to be. She had a problem with male authority due to the fact that she had been sexually abused by her father for years. Of course, no one around her knew that and she wasn't about to announce it to them. Her personality and the way she viewed the world was severely messed up, and it was very difficult for people to love her. But inside, she was broken and hurting, and only the love of God could restore her to wholeness. The patient, kind, and merciful love of God. The love that comforts people and guides them to the Truth, and works patiently to confront sin and bring healing and hope.
There are soooooo many people today living in the same broken state. I see them in my courtroom every week. People that most of the world has completely given up on. You can see in their eyes that they have little to no hope for a bright future. They have all but given up, and they’re doing their best to numb the pain and are now trapped in some gripping addiction. ..............Now God has the advantage of knowing their past and what has made them who they are today… of seeing their heart and hopes and fears, and knowing their true potential (because honestly, what person on earth would have guessed that Joyce Meyer or Beth Moore or Billy Graham would become the awesome Christian leaders they are today?) …God knows all of these things! We do not. But we do know God. And we can choose to put our selfishness aside and treat people with love, and God will richly bless that – both in our life and in the lives of those we love and encourage. …..Or we can choose to react to what we see in front of us and live by our emotions, most likely doing further damage to someone Satan has already beaten down to a point that they've forgotten who they really are.
I'm getting a deeper understanding of the truth that every person matters to God, and every heart has awesome value. Not only the homeless and the orphans, which is where the church places most of the focus. But also the outcasts. The criminals. The terrorists. Those who we strongly disagree with, and even those who say they hate us. The people that we view as too quiet. Obnoxious. Selfish. Stubborn. Arrogant. Rude. Dishonest. Shallow. Totally indifferent. Or completely strange. Each one was created by God, and He loves them, and their life has value and purpose. And every one of them has a spiritual enemy who has been busy attacking their self-esteem and security, whose goal is to utterly destroy them. We cannot forget that.
Our job, our high calling if you will, is simply to love them. Love is patient and kind, not easily offended, and always believes the best. Love is compassionate and uplifting. It is helpful to remember that hurting people hurt people. Those who hurt or belittle me are dealing with their own set of issues and attacks. That the real enemy is Satan, and he is working to kill, steal, and destroy every good thing God wants to do in our lives.
I admit that all of these things are easy to lose sight of when you’re in the midst of drama and it feels like your name is being dragged through the mud. But the most important name we bear is the name of Christ, and that is the “reputation” we should be most concerned with upholding. We do that by loving God first, and loving others even when it is difficult. (Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, bless those who curse you.) And we help and encourage fellow Christians to do the same.
Some of the people who have hurt us are lost and have never known God, while some are (or at least claim to be) Christians. It’s always harder to respond in love when it is a fellow believer who has hurt you. I want to be more careful not to become offended, because that is Satan’s greatest trap. Jesus’ prayer for the church in John 17 was for unity. Offense obviously causes division and strife and destruction. Paul encourages us to do everything in our power to “keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” To keep peace in all our relationships and not allow bitterness to get a foothold. That type of surrender to God can feel weak, and it is extremely DIFFICULT. But that is spiritual warfare, and it does great damage to the kingdom of darkness!
Last thought… I heard the song, “When God Ran” this morning. When the prodigal son finally realized how wrong his lifestyle was and chose to return home, the Father was overjoyed and filled with love and ran out to meet him! His older brother, however, was judgmental and frustrated that the Father could still love the other son after all he’d done wrong. I heard one pastor say that the Father ran to meet him so that the older brother would not get to him first. Makes sense. God WANTS the world to know that He loves them and believes in them. He wants the Christians who have gotten way off course to know that He still loves them and wants to be first in their hearts. Those who are broken (people who often come across as stubborn and arrogant and defiant) do not need judgment and punishment and bitterness and anger. They need restoration and healing and truth. They need the love of God, more than they probably realize.
Much like the Shallow Hal movie, we have a daily choice to live in shallowness... responding to what we see and feel -- or to live by the Spirit... looking past all of that to the heart of the matter, and remembering that there are bigger things at stake than our pride. The "God of hope" wants to use us to bring hope back into the hearts of those who are struggling and insecure. God says that He has shed His love in our hearts, meaning we have the ability to view the world and respond to each person as Christ would. And in every situation, it is up to us to decide whether to react like the disapproving older brother in the story, or to respond with the Father’s love and approval. WWJD should be obvious if we're not too stubborn or angry to ask ourselves the question.
Wow, this turned out much longer than I’d planned... congratulations if you made it this far!
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