Look After You Leap

Image by Craig (lincolnblues).

My contribution to TheHighCalling.org this morning reminds me of how superficial I tend to be when it comes to visual judgment. So why am I not like this when it comes to advertising? I think it's because I'm jaded. Too much crying wolf over the years. I've been conditioned to approach ads assuming the bells and whistles are hiding something. And the more bells and whistles, the more hiding.

I know there's good stuff going on in the ad world. I just need more of it.

I walked past our girls’ room yesterday and saw a book lying open-faced in the chair. On the earmarked page it read, “By the time he was 57, President George Washington was completely toothless.”

Huh. Didn’t know that. Twice I caught my grandfather without his false teeth – accidentally and only twice. It shocked me both times. I’d seen strangers and National Geographic photos of people with nothing but gums, but this was my grandfather who had convinced me he had a full set. And a toothless President? Unimaginable.  

The trivia page went on to say that Howard Taft weighed 350 pounds on his inauguration day. I think I knew this and vaguely remembered a story about him getting stuck in a bathtub at a college where I worked. I wondered how these men came to power. I assume it was their work ethic, leadership potential, articulation, social influence, political savvy…all the skills a public figure needs. It certainly couldn’t have been appearance because we’d never elect to President a man (or woman) with either of these physical characteristics.

"Love your neighbors for who they are on the inside," we’re told. "Don’t judge a book by its cover." Who really takes this advice? We’re a vain lot and research shows that nothing escapes our biases: gender, age, race, looks. Even as a follower of Christ, my narrow band of preference overrides what I’d like to think is Spock logic....

   
Read the rest here.


The High Calling is a site about work, life, and God.