The Tip of the Iceberg
I’m not a fan of lettuce—specifically, iceberg lettuce. It’s good when crunching your way through tacos in a bag, and it adds fluff to other dishes providing there’s more to it than that. It’s always better when nutritious ingredients are added as savoring with tastes budding over is always engaging.
This leads us to another course served up as the tip of the iceberg—headlines in the news. Fact is, it’s the ingredients added that make it tasty, much like chopped lettuce. Vegetating upon it, one must discern if there is any meat to the story, or if it’s mere fluff. In other words, if this is merely the tip of the iceberg, what is the rest of the story? And not only what is the rest of the story, but what is the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Newsbytes must be chewed upon for a while in order to figure out if it’s mere speculation or factual. Whether fact or fiction, it always makes a better read if more is tossed into the mix just to mix things up a bit. Perspectives shift depending upon what is added. Whether what is written is about a person, place, or thing, often it’s told from a vantage point to get more people to listen—to grab their attention. I suppose that’s why they used to holler out, “Extra, extra, read all about it!”
The top ten reads come easy enough as far as I’m concerned. These top ten have plenty of meat on them as it is now and ever shall be. Fact is, nothing more has been added to them. The first one reads, “I am the Lord, your God, you shall not have any strange gods before you.” Moving on down the line to number nine. “Do not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).
This begs the question, “Who is my neighbor?” It is clear. My neighbor is my brother, my sister, those who live close and those who live far away. My neighbor may be my neighbor nearby, or it may be my enemy who lives in close proximity or faraway lands. He not only created us, but “them.” He not only created our friends, but our foes. What’s more, He died for all.
I am a “them” to some and some are a “them” to me. I am sorry that I do not love my neighbor as myself at all times. Once I am aware that I have broken one of the top ten, what can I do about it? I can confess. I can turn away from my sin and towards our Father. I can begin anew while looking forward what my Father will do.
There’s a name for this process. Turning away from sin and turning towards Christ is conversion and it is ongoing this side of the veil. It is not once and done—rather it is a continual journey moving us along in the process of transformation— becoming more Christ-like.
Bearing false witness seems to be in vogue these days. Whether one is aware or unaware, we are all partakers of. And when our ears bend to that which we hear, may we turn. May we turn away by turning towards our Father. Then and only then will we be able to begin anew to love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s just the tip of the iceberg as soon, fruit will be in the mix. Amen.
