Grazer
Member
Thank you for all your comments 
There are so many angles this can be approached from and points that can be made that it would be impossible to explore all of them fully.
The most obvious is not taking people at face value or defining them by one single attribute. Jesus was more interested in what was in the heart than what was on the outside. Taking pride in your appearance is not wrong and a lot of the laws in Leviticus were designed to distinguish the Israelites from the other cultures. But its not what counts to God as Jesus taught. Our acts can be used as a disguise.
We all make snap decisions about people based on their appearance. When I was doing security for a night club, that's all we had to go on most of the time. Appearances have been linked to sections of society and if you are part of that group then you are expected to dress a certain way or if you dress a certain way then you must be that group. People's determination to pigeon hole others based on one aspect and their understanding of that aspect never ceases to amaze me. A lot of it is stereotype but like all stereotypes, it started somewhere.
Many symbols and aspects of life have things they are attached to and known for but what that is has changed over time. The swastika is now viewed as a symbol of hate and oppression but it wasn't always that way. The rave scene is synonymous with drugs but I never took any, I rarely drank alcohol. But the simple fact I went to raves led to my then bosses threatening me with drugs tests on more than one occasion.
But I've often found parallels between the rave mentality and Christ's teachings. When I went, the MC would often say lyrics like;
"I dont care where you come from, if you're rich or poor. You leave that stuff behind you when you walk through the door. We've got to rave together thats a wicked attitude. We're dedicated ravers rockin' under the same roof"
Or;
"We've got morales for mind. We've got this point to be made. I'm talking bout the racist attitde in life today. We can work it out so lets get together. Black white yellow brown it dont matter. Colours only skin deep whats it all about.
I cant understand the attitude that people are giving out. To hate race for how they dress or what they eat for food Its bang out of order its damn right rude"
I smile as I remember those days but also because I can almost hear Jesus saying something similar about us and him. I really see God in those words even though he's not explicitly mentioned and the setting is not one you'd associate with him. But isn't that when he does his best work?
When I look at the first picture, I see someone hurting, broken, pain. But I see beauty in that (which is slightly disturbing but never mind) I also see echoes of what she can be and how God sees her. She reminds me of me a little and she also reminds me of my friend. The second picture tells me nothing about his heart and that's what counts really.
The tag line from American Beauty, one of my all time favorite films, is look closer. I think thats something I could do more of. God changes our hearts but that's after he's accepted us as we are now. He meets us where we are now but he sees the vast potential in each one of us despite appearances.
Thank you for sticking with this post and making it to the end. I hope that's made sense and not just rambled. There's so many things that could be said but I'll turn the floor over to you.
Peace
Grazer
There are so many angles this can be approached from and points that can be made that it would be impossible to explore all of them fully.
The most obvious is not taking people at face value or defining them by one single attribute. Jesus was more interested in what was in the heart than what was on the outside. Taking pride in your appearance is not wrong and a lot of the laws in Leviticus were designed to distinguish the Israelites from the other cultures. But its not what counts to God as Jesus taught. Our acts can be used as a disguise.
We all make snap decisions about people based on their appearance. When I was doing security for a night club, that's all we had to go on most of the time. Appearances have been linked to sections of society and if you are part of that group then you are expected to dress a certain way or if you dress a certain way then you must be that group. People's determination to pigeon hole others based on one aspect and their understanding of that aspect never ceases to amaze me. A lot of it is stereotype but like all stereotypes, it started somewhere.
Many symbols and aspects of life have things they are attached to and known for but what that is has changed over time. The swastika is now viewed as a symbol of hate and oppression but it wasn't always that way. The rave scene is synonymous with drugs but I never took any, I rarely drank alcohol. But the simple fact I went to raves led to my then bosses threatening me with drugs tests on more than one occasion.
But I've often found parallels between the rave mentality and Christ's teachings. When I went, the MC would often say lyrics like;
"I dont care where you come from, if you're rich or poor. You leave that stuff behind you when you walk through the door. We've got to rave together thats a wicked attitude. We're dedicated ravers rockin' under the same roof"
Or;
"We've got morales for mind. We've got this point to be made. I'm talking bout the racist attitde in life today. We can work it out so lets get together. Black white yellow brown it dont matter. Colours only skin deep whats it all about.
I cant understand the attitude that people are giving out. To hate race for how they dress or what they eat for food Its bang out of order its damn right rude"
I smile as I remember those days but also because I can almost hear Jesus saying something similar about us and him. I really see God in those words even though he's not explicitly mentioned and the setting is not one you'd associate with him. But isn't that when he does his best work?
When I look at the first picture, I see someone hurting, broken, pain. But I see beauty in that (which is slightly disturbing but never mind) I also see echoes of what she can be and how God sees her. She reminds me of me a little and she also reminds me of my friend. The second picture tells me nothing about his heart and that's what counts really.
The tag line from American Beauty, one of my all time favorite films, is look closer. I think thats something I could do more of. God changes our hearts but that's after he's accepted us as we are now. He meets us where we are now but he sees the vast potential in each one of us despite appearances.
Thank you for sticking with this post and making it to the end. I hope that's made sense and not just rambled. There's so many things that could be said but I'll turn the floor over to you.
Peace
Grazer
