I have been an informal life-long student of relationships. Sometimes I am truly surprised by how limited I am in understanding others. I have to be shocked into awareness because I assume too much empathy and understanding on my part. Face it, I like to think of myself as a good guy who is thoughtful instead of a limited guy who is restrained by his physical being, which is tied to a specific culture, training, and experience of being one person in one place at a time during a specific span of history. Since I know all that I know, it seems to be the whole world until I come face to face with what I don’t know or understand.

I recently had to take a couple tries at listening to an individual’s video rant. I stopped the video to stop and pray. I couldn’t hear the person or what she was saying. I asked the Lord why. The answer was that I was a communication snob and a bigot. This person lived in my community, but we were worlds apart in culture, experience, and language. I was experiencing a full collision of my limitations and another person’s life. I had to put my culture and experience aside in an effort to hear this person from her point of view.

I have held nice views about the importance of each person and the respect each person is due. God created all persons, unique, gifted, amazing with the intent that each person would benefit others. His artistry in creation was to bless, not curse. Yet, humans often isolate, separate, and denigrate others who don’t fit their world view or who do not fit in their comfort zone. I had to realize that my nice thoughts had to quit being pie-in-the-sky and come to earth in concrete reality. I am drawn to those who fit my world view and are comfortable, and tend to avoid those who don’t. I tend to surrender to the comfort of my limitations. This person in the video really challenged that, and I realized God hears and knows all people for who they are with love and respect. I need to work to be more like Him.

I put aside my culture and bias and listened to the video. I was able to see the beauty of God in this person, the validity of her concerns, the honor in the way she was struggling to overcome the issue, and the love she had for those she wanted to protect. Nice views and philosophy, partnered with God’s design and purpose equals a change in Harry. As the Bible says let him with eyes see and ears hear. The video also taught me that I need people to teach me, people to hold me accountable, and an open door to allow the Lord to speak and to allow others access to my life.

I admire missionaries all the more because they open their lives to see God wherever they go, in whomever they meet, regardless of how foreign the life or culture. They open their hearts to be vulnerable to God and others. Love can be very frightening to those, like me, who have to be shocked out of our comfort zones.