"Seeing is believing"

If christianity truly is about seeing people for who they truly are and trying to see God for who he truly is then what does that mean for me? Why do I fail to see others?
Because seeing others may cause me to reorient my entire life.
It may cost me my time.
It may cost me my money.
It may cost me my comfort.
It may cost me my reputation.
It may cost me my security.
It may cost me my possesions.
It may cost me my job.
It may cost me my friends.
It may cost me my family.
It may cost me my life.
How often do I fail to see the waiter at a restauraunt as person- as a living human being with needs, wants, and desires of their own? How often do I fail to see the cashier at Wal-Mart as a person who has wounds, dreams, and feelings? How often-and I mean often, do I fail to see the person who is driving the car in front of me going 5 miles under the speed limit as a person who just wants to be cautious rather than as someone who is getting in my way?
Looking at the bible through this lens of "seeing is believing" has transformed traditional Old Testament stories into captivating tales for me. Almost every time before a disaster happens, the people of the city fail to see one another. They only see what they can gain from one another instead of what they can give. Take for instance the tale about Sodom & Gommorah. Two strangers enter the town only to be sexually sought after from the townfolk. Instead of seeing these strangers as human beings in their own right, the townfolk wanted to use them for their own sexual pleasure. What did God do? He breathed fire and brimstone on the whole town, killing every inhabitant except for Lot and his family. What was the sin of Sodom? Could it have been that they only saw the world through a filter of what they could gain from others? Why is it that God's answer was to destroy this place? What was so wicked that needed to be completely wiped off the face of the planet? What lesson are we supposed to learn from this story?

Let's look at what happened after 9/11. I am not condoning terrorism at all, but New York City was not the same city on 9/12 that it was on 9/10. September 10, 2001 most of the city was self centered. Most New Yorkers were focused on advancing their own careers, filling their own stomachs, and pursuing their own pleasures. On September 12, 2001 City was a totally different place. People began to see one another. They began to see the custodian worker who worked at her job on the 87th floor. They began to see the firefighter who risked his life everyday. People began to notice the world around them. They began to see the needs of others beyond their own. It took a disaster notice someone else but they began to notice.They began to acknowledge one another the street. They began to see the person behind the register. The noticed one another so much so that when New York had a massive power outage that there wasn't the amount of crime & chaos usually associated with such an event.
Now its been 7 years and the noticing of others is a,well, a little less noticeable and we shall wait until something happens when we begin to notice the person next door.