Have You Ever Worn Beer Goggles?

Have you ever worn beer goggles?

 

I don't literally mean actual goggles but perhaps you've had a mind altering chemical in your body that made things appear differently?

 

Unfortunately I have worn some pretty thick beer goggles over the years and the world around me appeared to look different.  Everyone always looked good and the thicker the goggles got...the better everyone looked! (some of you can relate) With my beer goggles on, I could do it all.  I was 6' tall and bullet proof.  (I'm actually 5'2" and bullet proof) I saw everyone the same... same color...same height...same weight...same social status...and we were ALL friends (in my blurry eyes at least)  I could also drive like Mario Andretti. (thank God for His protection) Life was good! So it seemed...Because I couldn't see anything for what it actually was.  I couldn't focus.  I could not see clearly.  I couldn't tell if the road was 4 lanes or two. (Dangerous, I know!) But I'm sure I drove down the middle of whatever road it was I was traveling.  I was not living in reality...I was seeing what I wanted to see at the time...

 

But...

 

What if...

 

What if we saw people deeper than what's on the surface?

 

What if we didn't run a background check on someone before we got to know them?

 

What if we didn't know how much or how little was in someone's bank account?

 

What if we didn't know if their home was a mansion or a box?

 

What if we didn't know what they drove or the brand name clothes hanging in their closet?

 

What if we didn't know someone was a convicted felon?

 

What if we didn't know someone was a drug addict or a recovering addict?

 

What if we didn't know if they came from a broken home or from a family that's been together from the start?

 

What if we didn't know someone was a single mom?

 

What if we didn't know someone had been married 3 times?

 

What if we didn't see color or size?

 

What if people weren't judged based on their gender?

 

What if...What if...What if...

 

What if we all wore "beer goggles?"

 

Spiritually speaking... That's how we should see people. Through spiritual goggles...So, you know someone has had an affair?  You know someone who has been in prison for years?  You know someone that's made some bad decisions which put them on the street?  So, you judge them or maybe even forgot about them.  You want "perfect" people in your circle while forgetting about the imperfect people desperately needing to be seen much deeper than the surface.  They need you to look past their past and look at their soul.  They want to know they aren't forgotten.  They want to know they can be included and not rejected because of their mistakes that may or may not have been out of their control.

 

I've seen too many times that people who have a certain social status get away with certain things in their life because of who they are while those with a history or those who aren't "important" enough...get beat down time and time again.

 

We have to start digging deeper into the souls of everyone we meet...

 

Today, I ask you to wear your spiritual "beer goggles"...

Don't try and read all the post-it notes that have been stuck to someone with label after label...mistake after mistake...

 

Dig deeper..."think" before you dig up things of the past...

 

The next time you see someone that you'd normally be quick to judge - stop and put your "beer goggles" on and take a deeper look...