There are some people who just don’t seem to have enough going on in their own lives that they must spend time watching other peoples’ lives. That would be OK, I guess, if they would withhold their judgment. But instead, they usually find someone to talk to about what they saw and then add their own take on it, how it was wrong or substandard in some way. We have all run into them in our lives. We might have done it ourselves. So why is it wrong?
I call the problem the “little box syndrome.” Some people live in such small boxes and they are can’t seem to see the world outside their box. What makes it bad is that they think they have a corner on the market in understanding the world. They think they have an exclusive and correct view of everyone else and they are more than willing to share that opinion with other people, as long as they never have to step outside their box.
Sometimes the box has a deceptive name like “tolerance.” But tolerance as it is used today in the United States is nothing more than official bigotry. We know this because anyone who doesn’t subscribe to the party line is labeled a bigot, without any tolerance of their viewpoint or room for variation. And there are some groups that are specifically targeted by these charges, those with contrary viewpoints. No rational discussion is ever allowed. The label gets glued and stuck. End of discussion.
Our text tells of some religious people who come to see Jesus, probably with ulterior motives. They aren’t there to really hear what Jesus has to say and do, they are there to find something to shoot down. They are looking for an easy target to discredit Him.
Mark includes an explanation of their standard of behavior. The washing of hands has nothing to do with cleanliness or personal hygiene. Instead, the washing was a way to separate themselves from the crowds in the public square. It was a way of indicating that they felt better than these common people.
We do this today with the kind of car we purchase and the neighborhoods where we live. We do it with the clothes we wear and the restaurants we frequent. We do it with the professions we chose and don’t chose.
Jesus offers a box that is large enough for everyone. Everyone is welcome to enter and find rest and acceptance. There is freedom and forgiveness. The only requirement is that you enter the box and accept the constraints of the box.
One of the constraints is that you have to give up your prejudices. Just because you are in the new box, the Jesus box, does not mean you are better than those outside the box. On the contrary, if you are in the Jesus box, you realize at a very profound level how unworthy you are to be in His box. You know you don’t deserve it. Nothing you do makes your place more secure. You are only there because of what Jesus has done on your behalf. He paid the membership dues.
So next time you are tempted to people watch and make judgments, think again.
The Arnold Journey 