The Sliding Scale
Several nights ago, I got out my bathroom scales. It isn't an expensive model but it is digital which I like for precision. (Grammar question: Is/are scales singular or plural?)The scales only come out of the closet once a year and for only one reason. I have to know much my luggage weighs when I go overseas on my missions. (There is a confirmed rumor that two of our WCS international students got hit with a $400 baggage charge EACH for being overweight when checking their bags on the return flight home!) So, this is the only time of the year when I weigh myself. I noticed something very interesting when I got on the scales several days back. I store the scales inside a kitchen closet so I weigh myself in the kitchen. After I weighed myself the first time, I moved the scale about a foot and a half- three pound difference! As I am the curious type, I've moved the scales all around and find this consistency; my weight depends on the location on the floor of the scales. If you interested, most readings have been from 187-190 pounds. So how much do I weigh? I don't know- it all depends on the perspective of the scales.
You know, three pounds isn't much but it will be on Tuesday as I check in with Singapore Airlines if I'm forty-eight ounces over the limit. (Another aside: they list their baggage allowances in kg so I had to find an online converter!) I don't know why there is the difference in readings. My guess would be the floor is uneven but not enough that I've ever noticed. I think there is a parallel with life in my scales and the floor. A slight change in perspective makes a noticeable difference. One life changer with me has been traveling to poor parts of the world- I've learned how good I have it and how not everyone on the planet thinks/speaks/reacts/drams/looks like me. I was in another home several days ago that is dealing with a very tough situation and I've asked myself how I would deal with being in their shoes. The truth is, I don't want to be in their shoes, but it made me understand some things better. I see life from the perspective of a small town kid with a loving and stable home. Not everyone has that same vantage point. I can't be the only one saddened by the way people have reacted on FACEBOOK the past two days after the Supreme Court's decision. I don't mean liking the ruling or disliking the ruling- I mean the way so many, on both sides of the fence, have belittled others who disagreed with their view. There are issues which we all believe are critical, not just to the survival of the country, but issues that have ethical and spiritual implications as well. But does ridicule ever change the other person's mind? Yesterday, I saw someone say that there would be a good deal of unfriending in the coming hours. I would guess they were right. It would be good for all of us to remember what Solomon wrote in Proverbs, chapter 12, verse 2
All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
If my scales are off, I might have to pay a fee to board my plane in four days. The Lord's scales are never off..... and He knows all hearts much better than we know somebody's heart on FACEBOOK. Do you think it tips the scales if we are a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent or maybe even........ not an American? Maybe I'll ask my Christian brothers and sisters in Vietnam next week.
Applicable quote of the day:
"In the Middle Ages, they had guillotines, stretch racks, whips, and chains. Nowadays, we have a much more effective torture device called the bathroom scale."
"In the Middle Ages, they had guillotines, stretch racks, whips, and chains. Nowadays, we have a much more effective torture device called the bathroom scale."
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