Wallpaper face

Just walked away from a group of people a short while ago after making some light conversation and was reminded that, with some people, I have a wallpaper face. I am one of those non-descript looking people who blend into the background like wallpaper or furniture, depending on the crowd of people I am with.

Some people are more "wallpaperish" than others and it depends on the situation we're in, how preoccupied we are with other things, and how sensitive and attention-needy we are at the moment. There are some people that treat us more like wallpaper than others and sometimes it bugs us and we've got to learn to deal with it somehow (like with some of the people I just left).

If we find that some people regularly treat us like wallpaper and it has the cumulative effect of causing us to think and act negatively toward them (That person is SO stuck up! Did you see how she...?! I can't stand being around them when they...), it's important for us to remember a couple/three of things:

1) I don't know what those people are thinking and I can't just assume they're being jerks, snobs, aloof, or whatever. Maybe they're really shy. Maybe you remind them of someone they had a bad experience with. Maybe everytime you're around them it just happens to be a 'bad time' for them to be aware of others/you. Maybe...a whole list of things I should consider before I take offense.

2) Maybe they actually are jerks, snobs, aloof, (or stuck-up as I assumed in the previously mentioned situation) or whatever. But it doesn't mean I need to let it get to me. Maybe I need to pray for that person more than I have been. Maybe they just interact differently than I like for people to interact with me because of how they were raised, right or wrong. Maybe I need to give them the benefit of the doubt and treat them in a Christ-like way anyway.

3) I need to make sure that as much as I can be aware of, I don't treat anyone as a 'wallpaper face' kind of person. I know I do and I have. I struggle with it. Usually it's someone who always drains me or asks something of me every time I see them. Sometimes is's someone who I know I have nothing in common with me and I quickly do the math of 'it is worth my time to talk to them?' and when the equation is negative...you guessed it, they're wallpaper.

In our church family, one of the biggest things for us to growth through is our understanding of one another. Peter and Paul talk ALOT about relationships. The implication is more than there in their writings that people are naturally self-centered jerks as often as not and that we as Christ followers absolutely must learn to see each other (and all people!) differently than we used to. I cannot continue to grow in Christ if I continue to treat anyone like wallpaper.

May the Lord bless each of us to realize that He came and became a wallpaper face for us. He blended in and had nothing about his appearance that anyone would find remarkable. What was different about him was who he was behind that wallpaper face and how he treated and dealt with all people, especially those that the powerful of 'the world' considered to be beneath them. May each of us reflect his face to a world who desperately needs him.