We don’t watch a lot of TV.  Our internet is slow which makes downloading any shows challenging at times.  So my husband and I decided on two shows to keep up with this year, and Madame Secretary is one of them.   Our favorite scenes usually include the interactions between the Secretary and her husband. I love to see it when married couples love each other but also have to work at it.  Of course, the Secretary’s quick wit does make it fun to watch.  The show has a good mix of serious with the humorous.  


In the last episode we watched, the Secretary’s daughter who is in her 20’s had made a bad decision.  This decision was going to be exposed to the world via the internet, but the exposure was stopped just in time.  At the end of the show, the daughter had the opportunity to meet with the man who was going to expose her.  She asked about his life and just sat there asking him question after question.  He told her about how he was all alone and had lost his job.  He then asked her, “What do you want from me?”  She answered that she wanted him to know her as a whole person and to not be judged just by this one indiscretion.  She also wanted to know him as a person so she would not hate him for him his action of almost exposing her to the world with no thought of who she was as a person.   She did not excuse his actions but saw him as a person who was hurting and just trying to figure out life.   She sought to understand.


Her actions made me think.  How often do I define a person by just one interaction, one instance without taking the time to get to know them?   How often to do an instant judgment instead of seeking to understand?  Grace happens when I seek to understand.  I think that is one of the things God has called me (and our team) to do here in this place.  Many people back home only know about the country where I live by the news.  They see the violence and all the goes with it.  I get to see the people wanting a better life for their families.  A people who are struggling to no longer be at war.  Many people think that these people are terrorist because they are muslim.  Yes, there are terrorist in this country but the majority are people who long for peace and a way to take care of their family.  I have the chance to put a face and a story to the people here.  I get the opportunity to tell my friends and family back home that God is working in this land.  


On the other hand, I also am showing the people here what it is like to be a follower of Christ.  Hopefully the people here see Jesus in me as I honor and love my family.  May they see something different when I interact with them with love and grace.  May I show integrity in all things.  May I give freely.  Hopefully my interactions will make them rethink their preconceptions and the stereotypes they have been taught about those who follow Christ.   Maybe they will see me as a person not a stereotype.  But most of all, I hope they see Jesus in me and start to seek Him. 


Do you have a situation where you need to see the person not the action?  To seek for understanding before making quick judgement?