Kind of a weird title. Totally get it. But I think sometimes we act like one of these when we should be the other. In dealing with truth matters, conflict issues, and frankly many conversations in life we tend to tell what we want people to see more than what truly is there. Let me explain.

I love going to the eye doctor. Not a lot of people say that I’m sure. And perhaps I like going because it’s a time I can hear the doc tell me how great my eyesight is. I’m one of those people who have been given the uncanny ability to see really well without corrective lenses. Actually I’m the only one in my house with strong enough eye sight to not need glasses or contacts.

When you go to the eye doctor and sit in her magic chair, she pulls the little mechanical goggles in front of your face. Then she asks you to look at the letter graph on the wall and read what’s there. Her job is to help you see what’s right there in front of you – just more clearly. She isn’t supposed to help you see something creative or cool. Just black letters on a white background. No more. No less.

An artist on the other hand has a different job. Their job is to help you see something from their perspective, something that may or may not even be there. The job of an artist isn’t to clarify your sight or even highlight reality. Their job is to paint you a picture from their view point. Inevitably they’ll help you see colors, shapes, or elements of something that you might have missed through shading and colors and even exaggeration of sizes.

I think in our communication we have to determine which approach we’re going to use. As a pastor of a church, my job isn’t to paint you a picture of something that isn’t there. It’s not to color something in a particular way that makes you think it’s pretty or beautiful. My job is not to tell you what you want to see. Being a pastor is not like being an artist.

Being a pastor is far more like being an optometrist than an artist. I don’t get to tell you what you should see. I tell you what’s there that you might not be able to see properly.

This part of my job is not fun at times. Telling a friend that their lifestyle isn’t in line with their confession of faith has lost me more than a few friends. But I firmly believe in caring about someone too much to leave them in a potentially bad place is worth the risk. To be honest,if I had to do it all over – the times I’ve been an optometrist (especially the ones that backfired and caused someone to be angry with me) I would definitely do them again.

I can’t paint a pretty picture of someone who is living in a dangerous place spiritually or in a bad relational setting or in a hypocritical lifestyle. None of it is good, healthy or beneficial to anyone!

The point is, if you want an artist to draw you a picture of how good life is and sugar coat things in life so you feel better then I guess I’m not your guy. But if you want an honest, and at times blunt, assessment of what is visible from your actions then I’d gladly walk alongside you as an optometrist who lets you see the difference between view “a” and “b”.

Here’s to seeing more clearly!