lenses.

Several months ago, I was coffeeing with a friend, and she and I got onto the topic of international travel. As we discussed various cultures and Americans' views on those cultures, I realized how pivotal our attitudes toward the outside world are in the way we treat others.

Since that point, I've been focused on the concept of the lens through which the individual views the world. I've applied it almost exclusively to culture, and have used this principle in countless discussions of how ethnocentric Americans tend to be.

Every morning, I start my day by checking my email from my phone.

[I check it on my phone so I can stay in bed a few minutes longer.]

I'm on a mailing list where I get a Bible verse and mini-devotion sent to me each morning. That's generally the first email I read.

This morning's verse smacked me in the face. I reread it 4 or 5 times, and then proceeded to grab my journal and write about it. Even still, six hours later, I can't get its words out of my head.

"To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted." Titus 1:15

Basically, your outlook on life and your perspectives about others reflect the essence of who you are.

DANG.

A few nights ago, I had a conversation with a friend which led to him talking about how his knowledge of God is limited by the finite capabilities of his human brain. It basically took my obsession with the cultural lens to a whole new playing field: the human lens. As humans, we can only comprehend God through our lens's limited understanding.

Why I'd never thought to apply the lens concept to religion is beyond me, but it makes so much sense. My frustrations over others' apparent cultural ignorance are no different, fundamentally speaking, than the way in which I'm ignorant about the complexities and mysteries of God.

And then came this verse.

My prejudices about others are a reflection of my own shortcomings.

Something I dog on a lot is cultural Christianity.

[you know, people going to church because it's what everyone around them does, and do just enough to keep them from feeling guilty.]

But according to this verse, I perceive cultural Christianity to be prevalent in society because it's the way I operate. My lens is reflecting what's inside before allowing me to see out.

Is this really true? Have I been so sucked into a culture where Christianity is the norm, that I've been living it simply because that's what's socially acceptable? And because it's so mainstream, am I living cultural Christianity without realizing that's what I'm doing?

They say that bringing out the good in others is the best way to bring out the good in yourself.

By Titus 1:15, though, you can't bring out the good in others until you've found that equilibrium in yourself,

OR

conversely, does bringing out the good in others create a rightness within you?

It goes back to a verse in Matthew I came across yesterday: you can't wash the outside of a dish and assume that's made the inside clean as well. It has to start with the inside, and then the outside will end up being clean (Matthew 23:25-26).

So then. I suppose I don't have room to evaluate how accurate (or inaccurate) a person's perspective might be. I need to work internally, and everything else will fall right where it should be.

...easier said than done.