We live in a world that has selective loss of vision, a temporary blindness of sorts that allows us to see the people we want and ignore the people we do not want to see.
In a recent interview, a homeless man was asked what the worst part of being homeless is. I was expecting the outdoor conditions to be high on the list. I also thought about the living arrangements and the food insecurity to be key, but his answer startled me and made me think about the text of scripture we are investigating today. The man said that the worst part of being homeless is how invisible he feels. He went on to say, “It is as if no one sees me; people go out of their way to avoid making eye contact. It is as if I am not there if our eyes do not connect and most people do not want our eyes to connect.”
We have a tendency to judge people based on what we see or do not see. Our quick survey and appraisal of people is our way of pre-judging and therefore using our time in a most efficient way so as not to waste time on people who we do not deem worthy of time and energy. By definition: biased is unfairly prejudiced for or against someone or something. We are called by God to address our biases in order to love without judgement.
