A town in Northern Ireland spent a lot of time, effort, and money sprucing up its image for the arrival of some special guests. On June 17-18, 2013 the world's eight most powerful leaders gathered in the town of Enniskillen, Ireland for the G8 summit. In preparation for the special guests, which included President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the town put up fake
storefronts on shuttered businesses.
Dan Keenan, a reporter for the Irish Times, reports that the image-conscious village leaders "filled the shop front window with a picture of what was the business before it went bankrupt or closed."
In other words, grocery shops, butcher shops, pharmacies, etc. placed large photographs in the windows so that if you drove past and glanced at the window, it would look like a thriving business.
Keenan continues,
"It looks as if the door is open and inside you can see a well-stocked shop. It's nothing of the sort. That door has been locked shut for well over a year because that particular business went bust this time last year, and that is an image to make it look as if everything is normal in the town and in the county, but unfortunately it's not. (In reality, the entire county) has suffered terribly as a result of the credit crisis and the resulting
recession."
Interestingly, Keenan also claims that the ordinary citizens of Enniskillen are skeptical of these shallow attempts to make everything look rosy. They'd rather present the town in its most positive light without attempting to mask its current financial
problems.
Why is that people often want to "gloss" over the real problems of life when they are speaking with one another?
Can the same be true in the realm of relationships with others?
God calls us to higher, and still higher ground in our interactions with people. When people feel that they can trust us with WHO they are, they will allow us to see more and more of the "real person," and, in turn, we'll be allowed to build a relationship with them...and perhaps have the chance to lead them to
Jesus.
Have a great day and God bless!
Pastor Mike / The Open Word
