Thursday, January 19, 2012

Living Wide-Eyed in a Squinty-Eyed World

My daughter just got back from China. She had many stories to tell. Among them was this gem: She confused them. She has jet black hair and very large eyes. How can you have black hair and large eyes, they asked? You should have squinty, slanted eyes, like us. She stood out among the crowd to them.

And that got me thinking about a verse I was given a while back, that I have been turning over in my head ever since:  Matthew 10:16 --  “I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (NIV)

Be like a sheep among wolves – wide-eyed among the slanted eyed. Be shrewd, yet innocent. And going on that journey so far away, my daughter did just that. She stood there, wide-eyed and set apart, ready for whatever came her way, yet leaving herself open and approachable. These are tough balances to strike, yet she and the entire group did so and did so beautifully.

But what about us?  How do we live wide-eyed in a squinty-eyed world, even if we never go to China? The verse bears repeating. Matthew 10:16 – “You’re going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don’t call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.”  (The Message).

What does this mean? I have thought about this a lot: in a figurative life, a global life, and a daily life. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” Yep. He does that. Baa. He sends us out among demons. He sends us out among opposition. He sends us out among enemies. Entities don’t do right. Competitions don’t do right. People don’t do right. But here is to be our response: Let them manipulate and circulate around you. But in the end, they cannot touch you without God’s permission. Yes, we are to let them, as a sheep among wolves. Standing there in the center of it, all that manipulation and all that circulation is scary. They circle, they slobber, they growl. But they cannot touch you without God’s permission. Baaaa.

But what’s this about being “as cunning as a snake” ? Snakes are slithery. Surely God doesn’t want us to be slithery? That’s not what He said. He said, “Be as shrewd as….” Hmmmm.  Could shrewd be another word for wise? Be wise. Be wise when we’re in the middle of those manipulating wolves. What? Stand firm and get this: It means – Understand what they do and why they do it.  Whether they are corporations or countries, companies or organizations, wolves or people, understand what they do and why they do it. Be wise. Be shrewd. Get wisdom. Get understanding.

And then be “innocent as a dove.” Yep. (Who said it was easy?) While they are doing all that prowling and stalking, get some wisdom and be innocent.  Be innocent. Love them. And then leave the action to God. Oh yes. Love them. Leave the action to God.

You see, He alone knows the God-seekers, if any, among those wolves. Neither you nor I have the ability, when there’s circulation and manipulation going on, to stand there and discover which wolves are actually God-seekers.

Because some of them are indeed God-seekers. And we surely can’t see it because we’re surrounded by growling, toothy menaces. But He knows. He knows each and every heart beating in that pack. He knows the God-seekers.

Psalm 5:12 says, “You are famous God, for welcoming God seekers.” So stand down. Live wide-eyed in the squinty-eyed world. And let Him show you the God-seekers among the wolves.

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