Carver and the Pink Floaters.
My five-year-old, Carver is colorblind in the best sense of that word. Let me tell you what I mean and then tell you about the lesson God drove home in my heart as I sat on the beach a few weeks ago during the waning days of summer break.
Carver is a bit overconfident as a swimmer. He is not as unsinkable as he might think, and therefore he needs to wear some type of buoyancy device in the water. A year ago, we bought him a hybrid of a life jacket and inflatable arm-bands. It is a strange-looking thing but has been effective in helping Carver to grow confident in the water while keeping him safe. Ours is navy blue with some green sea turtles on it. A few weeks ago our family traveled up to Lake Michigan for a weekend with my wife’s sister and her family. Once we arrived on the beach we realized that we had forgotten Carver’s floatation device. This was bad news, for Carver was ready to splash his way into the huge body of water that spread before us. Fortunately, Angela’s sister has two daughters and they had the very same floaters that we had. The only difference was theirs were pink with little princess-looking seahorses on them. I wasn’t sure how Carver would respond. “Hey Carver,” my wife said, holding it up for him. “We forgot your floaters, but Aunt Lindsey has this one.” His response was swift. “Yeah,” he said, and without wasting a second was putting his arms through and turning around to get it buckled on so he could go play in the Lake with his cousins and his siblings. “Wow,” I told Angela. “I wasn’t sure he’d be too happy with the pink floaters, but he didn’t give that a second thought. ”Some things are more important,” she responded. “He knows his priorities.”
Carver wanted to get into Lake Michigan, so he unashamedly put on the pink floaters and got to playing in the water with his cousins. See, for Carver, it wasn’t about the color. As long as it did its job and kept him afloat it was fine with my son. When it comes to floaters, Carver is color-blind.
This got me thinking. Are there areas as a leader when I need to be more color blind? Before we go on, let me emphasize that I’m not using this phrase in terms of race, (more on that in an upcoming post). Rather, “color” here serves as a metaphor for many things that might blind us to the potential in someone. What are externals that keep us from seeing the intrinsic value of a person? For leaders, what are things that might blind you to the potential in someone? Here are a few examples of “color.” A person’s hairstyle, tattoos, race, gender, age, favorite sport or past time, political party, style of dress, personality, occupation…The best leaders (and people) don’t allow color to divert their focus from what is important about a person – their heart and their God-given potential.
I’ve found that it’s also possible to judge other things, like churches or ministries based upon “color.” A church’s size, worship style, denomination, theological tradition, emphasis, ethnic background, style of dress, location, age of congregants, diversity or lack thereof, to name a few. We can get bent out of shape by color. I’m struck by Craig Groeschel’s words, “It’s easiest to judge what we understand the least.” This is true of people as well as things like ministries or organizations.
Here’s what I know from Scripture: God has often used the unlikeliest of characters to do His work. I think of one of the most famous people in the Old Testament, King David. Just prior to his being anointed king, Samuel the prophet showed up to his father’s house. Upon hearing that the prophet was to meet his sons, David’s father, Jesse, had all the sons come present themselves to Samuel. As each one passed, Samuel thought, “this one is surely the Lord’s anointed,” but the Lord spoke to him and said, “Do not consider his appearance, for man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart.” As all David’s brothers passed, the Lord said of each one, “Not this one.” Finally, Samuel said to Jesse, “Is this it?” Jesse replied, “Well there’s one more, but he’s out in the field.” Translation, “There’s still one more, but he’s definitely not the guy.” But when David was called in, the Lord said, “He is the one!” And David went on to become such a renown king that his legacy lives on to this day in the nation of Israel.
So often, color keeps us from seeing the value of a person or a ministry. We take one look and make assumptions, which prevent us from experiencing the benefits that could be ours, theirs, and sometimes even the world’s through partnering with them. Think of the future leaders we may have written off because they didn’t fit our perception of what a leader looks like. Think of the strategic partnerships we may have missed because we feared connection with those who may be outside of our well-constructed box.
Carver had no idea he was providing a powerful lesson for me that day on the beach. But I’m thankful that he was color blind that day. I pray that as he grows and becomes a young man and a leader, he will remain color blind. I pray God will give him eyes to see the heart in others and to inspire and unleash the potential in the people around him. And I pray that his daddy will provide him a good example to follow in this regard.
