 |
| The scarred yet sweet & juicy tomato |
This is a special tomato.
"Why would such a blemished and imperfect tomato be
special?" You might ask. Let me explain: This tomato is special for the
simple reason that it’s picked from our garden. I grew it. Planted in early
May, we gave it TLC for three months till harvest time in August.
I wouldn't buy this tomato or any that looks like it. I
spend time poring over produce at the grocery store to ensure no blemished
fruit or vegetable makes it to the counter with me.
For one, fresh produce is expensive and whatever we buy
is meant to last a while, sometimes for several weeks, and the scarred ones won’t. Even when we intend to use them quickly, the mere task of cutting off
the scarred parts seems like too much work. While grocery stores go to great
length to ensure only perfect produce is displayed, picky shoppers still
take time to skip even the most of superficial scars.
I brought this tomato in and it did not even for a minute
occur to me to throw in out. “It’s mine and it’s organic.” I reasoned. Plus, I
know that after cutting out the scarred section, it will blend in and be
unrecognizable among others in the salad.
This got me thinking about faults and weaknesses. People's everyday weaknesses or annoyances [I am not talking about drama, which I prefer to keep it out of my life]. We’re very quick to see fault in others - be it family, friends or
colleagues. Regardless of the depth of the fault, we tend not to care that the
fault could be as a result of their circumstances and/or previous experiences. After all, these contribute to molding our character. Once we
identify in others something that displeases us or makes us uncomfortable, then
we rush to judge and dismiss. “She’s not my type” or “he’s just too
complicated” or they are just “too challenging to deal with”, are some of the
arguments we front to justify disengagement from people we should care for and
who generally need more care than most.
When we do this, we throw out an opportunity to be human,
to show kindness, to forgive and to be an example to others. We shut the door
to being vulnerable with others; an important ingredient for
friendship and close family relationships. Instead of covering others or helping them cut out faults, we
expose their difference, their lack and weakness. We distance ourselves from
those we perceive to be weak and different.
This is classic human hypocrisy since as we are judging
and criticizing others, we fail to see or acknowledge our own weaknesses.
Consequently, when we do acknowledge it, we’re rather quite forgiving of
ourselves and want to make others believe that it was a rare mistake or a
judgement error and that we’re good most of the time. We also promise to
improve ourselves.
Drawing from Scripture, it appears that Jesus was not impressed by the “clean and righteous”. Rather, He identified and reached out to the marginalized, the ones that society
had kicked to the curb. The sinners and imperfect were his closest; whom
He chose, engaged in conversation and shared meals with. Those are the ones we too should seek out.
Remember, after I cut out the blemish, the salad tasted
just as delicious.
