Substance and Accident

When I took Philosophy many many years ago, we learned the difference between "essence" -- or substance, soul-- and "accidents" -- or form, shape, appearance.  I think most of the time, we are relating to "accidents" in the people around us -- that is, how they look, or how they act, or how they talk.  Sometimes, though, if we are patient, we learn to see the soul of a person -- who they really are deep inside.  And then the accidents no longer matter so much.

When I first started listening to J. Vernon McGee on the radio in the mornings on my way to work, I thought maybe he was a backwards country preacher because of his gravelly voice and deep country accent.  But the more I listened to him, the more he revealed his "soul" -- a deep and abiding and sweet love of Jesus and of His truth.  I came to love J. Vernon McGee, and from the letters his radio program still receives from all over the world, so do thousands of people despite race, culture, creed.  McGee has gone on to be with the Lord, but his teaching still goes out into all the world on a daily basis, and letters come from all parts of Africa, Uganda, Russia, Turkey, South America, China, Korea, Poland, Armenia, etc.   I doubt there is anyplace in the world that has not been touched by the words of this simple country preacher.

The older I get, the less the accidents matter to me.  In just a few minutes of conversation, the essence, or soul, of someone begins to unfold, and I have discovered it is possible to love someone even if the "accidents" are driving me crazy on the surface.  When working on projects with other people, sometimes I want to say "Stop it; just stop it" if they can't seem to progress in an orderly fashion to complete the job.  But I also see the humor in the situation because of the purity of their hearts.

There is something to be said for "his heart's in the right place."  In the end, despite all of our fumbling around, God sees our hearts and what we love.  And despite all the differences of all those people around the world, we will ultimately love one another in heaven because of the purity of our hearts -- never mind how stupidly we executed our projects on earth.

If only we could keep the final vision in mind as we work alongside one another on a daily basis.  I think if we focus on Substance and diminish the "accidents," or appearances, we should find more joy in our exchanges with one another.