I don’t even know his name but I know he went to a posh school and university in England. His mannerism said it all! I wish I had a photograph to share with you, you would have loved it. The stance and stride as he walked through the lobby said that perhaps it was Eaton. The tailored suit, shirt, and overcoat whispered Oxford. The facial expression suggested a prep school in Scotland. I knew that as a crazy American I would never be accepted in certain social circles where he walked with ease. The irony is that everyone behaved as if this was normal; which in many ways it is, but is it right?
Everywhere one looks there is a hierarchy to battle. Those who fight for survival face the perception that somehow they are different from those fortunate to have a job that pays well. Individuals with various titles behind their name require that we address them in a manner that acknowledges their special training and role in society. Others are recognized in positive and negative ways because of their accent, skin color, hair style, sex, behavior, height, weight, or a whole host of other factors. Even those who analyze trends tend to talk about people in demographic terms! Granted that there are patterns but is anyone obligated to behave as their demographic characteristics indicate they might?
The blunt analysis is that regardless of what clothes you wear, or don’t wear, we are all equal. Even those who behave in ways that I find repugnant stand as a human being with as an equal with certain rights. Reality is, and it is often very hard to accept this as truth, that “the poor and their abusers have at least something in common: they can both see—their sight GOD’s gift!” (Proverbs 29.13)
What follows is equally challenging. Are you and I willing to look at others the same way God does? I sure hope so, because I need mercy as much or more than the next guy does! What I cannot give I cannot receive.
