Did you ever wonder if people are seeing things the same way
you see them? I mean, when I see a
daffodil, I recognize it as a daffodil.
You see a daffodil, and you recognize it as a yellow, spring flower,
too. Only, do we see the same thing in
the same way, or when I see round, yellow and points, you see square but know
it as round, red, but call it yellow, or blunt ends but know it as
pointed. Do we see the same thing the
same way, even though we know it as the same thing? And, is the way you see the right way, or is
the way I see the right way?
It gets even more complicated in daily conversation. How do we know that what I mean by money is
what you think of when you think of “money”?
We could be talking about different things altogether, like saving and
spending are different, but both are about money. We wind up thinking we are on the same page,
when actually we are in entirely different chapters.
Think about “normal”.
“Normal”
to me is conflict, criticism, and disrespect.
While I try not to engage in them, I tolerate them as normal, and put up
with them, sometimes not even seeing conflict and disrespect for what they are. However, conflict, criticism, and disrespect
may be abnormal to another person. They
won’t tolerate it because it is not “normal.”
Abuse is like that—what’s abusive for our culture may be perfectly
acceptable (and “normal”) in another culture (a few years ago a friend from a
culture where it was normal to “discipline” the wife with a beating, “disciplined”
his American wife. The marriage
dissolved because the wife, being from an American culture, didn’t tolerate
it).
This is why when we read the Bible, we must recognize we read
it through the lens of our culture. Consequently,
we skim over what was remarkable and a huge departure for the original
readers. In so doing, we miss what it
really means because it is not as much a departure from our culture. Take what Paul and Peter said about how a
husband treats a wife in Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3. Some say they were out of step with modern
life because they say a woman follows. We
don’t see how out of step it was to insist that if the Holy Spirit ran your
life, you would treat the wife as valuable (1 Peter 3:7) and worthy of serving,
sacrificing, and even dying for (Ephesians 5:25ff). Our culture sees all individuals as valuable
and worthy of respect. We see that as
normal, but the Bible sees it as remarkable and abnormal—Spirit driven. When seen against the backdrop of New
Testament culture, what the Bible says about women is revolutionary.
Of course, when you’ve been married long enough for the honeymoon
to be over, and you start taking your spouse (husband or wife) for granted,
these New Testament commands and perspectives might be just as
revolutionary. Maybe these commands are
really daffodils—it doesn’t matter what we actually see. What matters is that it is a
