It Looks Like Chocolate!
Some years ago, I was listening to a candy maker being interviewed about a well-known candy bar. The discussion involved how much real chocolate was used in many of the candy bars. He commented that often, in some, there was no chocolate at all. He then said these words: “It looks like chocolate, it feels like chocolate, it smells like chocolate and it tastes like chocolate, but it ain’t chocolate!”
Now I might not have all the details correct, since it was a while back, but what struck me was how the whole conversation was much like what takes place around us. Between the Internet, the news, and all the many ways communications go out, we are inundated with data, some true, some not. We can be looking at a video, and not know if what we are seeing is really happening.
I have gotten to the point that if I haven’t seen it myself, I always take the wider look. Let’s start with peoples’ opinions. They are just opinions. Some opinions are based 80% on fact and 20% on their response to that fact. You could move those percentiles all over the place and still have many different opinions on one event.
How do you know what is real and what is not?
So, how do you know what is really real and what is not? What event or fact has been manipulated by people who have their own agenda? What has been the lie or the half –lie? We are pretty good at spotting the lies within our family members. We know them well. Even then we can be deceived.
The word discern has to do with the ability to see clearly. To discern what is really happening and what your response should be. Discernment is critical. It is not only to see the deception but it is also to see the good.
Living on an Acre
Years back, my family had decided to try living on an acre with all types of animals, and we were determined to grow a very large garden. We had 30 chickens, 12 geese, two pigs, one cow and one milk goat. Yes, we actually did that! We had no clue what we were doing, but we learned very rapidly that every one of the above critters were experts at getting into all of the neighbors’ yards. We also found out that the apartment complex behind us loved to watch our fiascos with the animals. We were the entertainment of the neighborhood.
Our neighbors would yell “go get them!” when Dad was running after both pigs. We were the circus in town. Now, this neighborhood was kind of a tough crew. Lots of drinking and partying went on. Yet, what happened in the next few months taught me a valuable lesson about discernment.
The Knock on the Door
There was a knock on the door, and all my kids ran to answer. As I arrived and opened the door there stood a most interesting young woman. She was carrying a chicken in her arms, and one of its claws had a bandage wrapped around it.
She was tough looking and looked like a younger version of a Hells Angel from Los Angeles. When she opened her mouth, it also matched her looks! Her sentence started out like this. “I don’t know if this is your blank, blank chicken, but my blanking brother was trying to catch it, and broke the blanking foot; he was going to kill the blanking thing, but I told him that he wasn’t going to kill the blanking chicken, and I thought it belonged to someone.”
I looked over at my children and all four of them were standing with their mouths totally dropped! I looked back at the girl, and suddenly I saw her goodness. “You mean you rescued this chicken and then walked all the way around the block to see if it was ours?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, “and I stopped at one of the neighbors and they wouldn’t even talk to me.”
Be Aware of the Good That is Out There
“What a good person you are,” I said. “ That you would go to that much trouble to return this chicken to me, and to stand up for what is right. I am impressed and grateful!”
“Well”, she said, “I just don’t blank, blank think people should do this, and I would like to be somebody different than my blank, blanken brothers!!”
As I stood there, I realized how locked in her life must be. She couldn’t have been more than 17. I asked her if she would like to come in to our home and walk around the back and see the animals up close. You could see the amazement on her face that she was asked, and then instantly her face got a harder look. “I can’t come in your home. I probably need to get back to my brothers, but thank you for being so blank, blanken nice. I haven’t had that for a long time.”
Everyone Matters, Especially to HIM
I reached out and hugged her and closed the door. I gathered my children around me and I told them to never judge someone by just how they looked. Everyone deserves a chance. Everyone is a child of God. Everyone matters.
Discernment is just that. It is the ability to not only see the bad, but the ability to see the good through the Lord’s eyes. HIS eyes are accurate! Our eyes are affected by fear and mistrust! Yes, we do have to be real in this tough world. We have to be aware, alert and often on guard, but we don’t have to be blind. This is HIS world, not ours. We are HIS servants, not our own. Live in such a way that you will have the ability to see the good and then do some good.
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