We have all heard the saying, "Onions have layers". You may remember that line from the Shrek movie. The idea is that people are complex creatures. Their minds seem infinite in their ability to process information. I learned early on in my pastorate that there is always more to people than you realize. It's not that people are always intentionally hiding things, they could be, but I think it has more to do with the complexity of their human state which they may not be familiar with. I'm not just talking about trust or the lack of, I'm talking about people genuinely not knowing about the layers of complexity in their minds.
Instead of looking at the layers of others, let's talk about the layers in our own lives. It is really difficult to understand someone's situation without experiencing it yourself. For example, unless you have truly experienced depression - deep depression, then you really have little to know idea of what it is like for the person going through it. Even though you may have read about it, talked to people about it, or learned about it in college, you still have little idea what it feels like. Knowledge and feeling are not the same. Just because you know a lot about depression does not mean you understand what it feels like. Due to our inexperience with situations in the lives of other people, our default mode is to judge them. Judgement is a layer in our lives that we need to peal away.
When we peel away the layer of judgement, we can have compassion for people who are going through things. No matter the situation, we need to learn to feel for people so we can
help them. Allowing our layers to be exposed and peeled away is not easily done. There is a vulnerability associated with this, but it is imperative that we move aside the layers that prevent us from loving people.
Onions don't peel themselves. Someone has to handle the onion and pull the layers one at a time. Sometimes our circumstances help to peel away the layers. They help us to see areas in our lives that we need to improve on. It helps us to see that we are not as perfect as we thought we were. The real you lies at the core and this is who you want people to know. You are a person with the ability to love, care, encourage, and forgive. Removing these layers that cover these traits up with help you to live as you were created.
One question remains - will you allow the layers in your life to be peeled away? Will you be honest with yourself and recognize when you need to change? Will you allow God to expose the layers that need to be removed from your life? Will you allow God to restore you to who He created you to be?
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