He is a renowned expert in the medical field but he is viewing the world like I used to as a kid. With two empty toilet paper rolls I had a pair of binoculars. And, they really did make things look bigger! At least I thought so.

Maybe they didn’t work but by blocking out everything else it sure made whatever I was looking at seem bigger. When we narrow our focus and only see one thing it looks like that is the whole world, the complete picture. And that’s what our medical friend was doing when he said that after this COVID pandemic masks should become like seatbelts – we all wear them whenever we are in public and even shame inconsiderate people who don’t. He is an expert so he must be right. Or is he? Here is the crazy part about his suggestion.

Viewing the world through the cardboard tube binoculars of medicine, that is probably a great idea. If everyone wore a mask it would certainly cut down on the spread disease. But using a cop’s cardboard tubes we might see things differently.

Do you think it’s a good idea if every patron who comes into a convenience store on the Southside of Chicago at 2am is in a mask? I’ve seen signs that say you can’t even enter with a hoodie (guess I hang out in some rough neighborhoods). And now we want everyone to wear a mask? If you view the world through the lens of law enforcement you might have a different idea.

The point is, we all have our own cardboard tube through which we view the world and we think our perspective is the only correct one. If you doubt that, here is a quiz. Think of the hundreds or thousands of opinions you have. Is there a single one that is wrong? Of course not. I don’t even have to know much about a topic to have an opinion on it and, amazingly, my opinion is always right.

Solomon observed this ages ago: “The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.” (Proverbs 18:17) All of my opinions are right until someone comes and forces me to look outside my narrow cardboard tube of focus. “Have you considered this? Have you looked at that?” If they convince me, I change my opinion and now have a new one – that is right. And the cycle continues.

Sadly, too often, instead of being willing to put down our cardboard binoculars and consider another viewpoint, the “new normal” is to act as though any alternative viewpoint is an attack that we must counterattack. Especially because our perspective – on everything – is right.

Everyone wear a mask in public? Great idea – from a medical perspective. The doctor is absolutely right. But that is not the whole truth. There are other correct perspectives. And when we realize that we may be right but not have the whole truth, perhaps we can learn to get along with folks we disagree with.

Perhaps we can learn to at least show kindness toward people who see things differently than we do. We don’t have to compromise our convictions to be kind, gentle, patient, loving, considerate. We just have to be Christ-like.

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The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.
Proverbs 12:15

What to do when the experts are wrong.
My son, Joel, and I have a podcast looking at this topic more in-depth. Check it out.