Wednesday, March 12, 2003

A simple look

"Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness." Luke 11:34

Have you noticed that people don't look at you anymore? I went through the drive-thru at McDonald's today, and like so many other times - places - people, the cashier at the window didn't even look at me as she handed me my food. You may think, "Big deal. Who cares if they don't look at you?" Well, look at what that scripture says "an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness." Hang with me here.

Could it be that the indifference and callousness that is so prevalent in our society has been brought about by the simple fact that we don't look at one another? I've heard stories from "old-timers" about how two men could broker a deal that involved lots of money and assets and their agreement would be binding based on a simple handshake - given while each man looked the other in the eye.

The eyes are the window to the soul. We can't really "see" each other when we don't look eye to eye. We can't be real. We can hide many things - pain, sorrow, anger . . . Think about what we can show with a look: love, compassion, hope . . .

Selfishly, I was offended that the cashier didn't look at me - the customer. But as I drove away I realized, what I really wanted was to at least tell the girl thank you for her service and offer her a smile. Who knows what darkness she is dwelling in. I just wanted to bring a little sunshine.

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