oh, just read a book

I was listening to someone talk the other day about how to connect with youth. He recommended certain books and videos for those who aren't often able to observe the radicals frequently. At first, I was slightly offended. The older generations want to learn about my generation- about ME- via generalization and stereotypes in videos and books? They want to learn from a secondary source instead of simply asking any 'youth' what they think about their own culture?

Then I realized that this idea of reading a book or watching a video to constantly build up knowledge instead of acting is nothing new. I mean, I do it practically all the time. I can't go there, do that, talk to that person, etc, because I do not know enough yet. I don't want to ask my friend with a different religion about their religion firsthand because that might be offensive and I don't want to look stupid. I can't try to communicate with the Hispanic at my work place because I need to learn more Spanish first.

Why is that? Why can't I use the knowledge and gifts that God has given me right now, at this moment, to begin impacting the people around me, instead of waiting to feel better equipped?

In John 9, Jesus heals a blind man. The Pharisees question the healed man about Jesus and what he knows about Him, and this is how the conversation continues:


 ²⁵ He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
 ²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
 ²⁷ He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
 ²⁸ Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
 ³⁰ The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. ³² Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
 ³⁴ To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

-John 9:25-34

Isn't it amazing that the blind man who was JUST introduced to Jesus' power and goodness understands more about Him than the Pharisees? The blind man physically interacted with Jesus and then understood how He could not possibly be a sinner. The Pharisees, for all their book knowledge and studying, still did not understand this!

May I not be a Pharisee. May I choose to learn directly by interacting with people and touching their lives instead of basing my world view on books that I have read that are written by people I will never meet. The people around me are walking stories that I need to learn to listen to.

Understand, I am not saying that reading books or watching informational videos is a bad thing. But I pray that I never learn to stereotype people, religions, or anything else by what I learn via those resources. Generalization is a dangerous thing. The beggar realized that Jesus wasn't just another sinner because he had an actual encounter with Jesus and was open.

Be open. Make encounters. Change lives. Don't just read books about ideas and religions, ask the people involved directly.

"ONE thing I do know. I once was blind, but now I see."
- the beggar.

I guess that's all I really need to know to effectively change lives.