Shallow Hal
John 6:60-71
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, "this is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?" 61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble? 62 "What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 "aIt is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 "But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would 1betray Him. 65 And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless bit has been granted him from the Father."
John 6:66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" 68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." 70 Jesus answered them, "and I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?" 71 Now He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.
"Shallow Hal" is the title of a movie that was produced in 2001. It is about a man who falls in love with a 300-pound woman because he sees her inner beauty. Before meeting this woman, Hal had a standard for a woman's appearance before dating. The movie had a great lesson that Jesus teaches us in John 6:60-71. It is not the physical beauty that matters but rather the inner beauty that matters.
Unfortunately, we are living creatures, and a person's appearance matters. When I taught presentation skills I gave the participants a few things to do before they started teaching a class for a group of participants who did not know the teacher. The first was to dress one level above the class. A class with professionals in it would dress in business clothing or business casual today. Therefore, if the instructor is a man, a sport coat and tie with a long-sleeved shirt is best. A man can always dress down by taking the tie and coat off. It was more difficult for the women because it was harder to dress down. The impression of professionalism is essential. I offered the following recommendation: the teacher stands in front of the class with nothing blocking the students' view. The class needs about ten seconds to see the entire figure of the teacher. The first impression is made. If the teacher introduces him or herself from behind a podium, the students will get a different impression. What the teacher is hiding will be in their minds.
Society has established dress codes for different occasions. Men and women dress differently depending on the purpose of the exercise. If the objective is to go to a bar and meet people, the dress code is different than if they are going to the gym. The first impression based on looks is a part of the flesh. It is the basis of the animal kingdom. The more muscular good looking male is the one who usually gets to pass on his DNA.
Jesus directly approaches this situation. He states that the physical is not what is most important. It is the spiritual aspects of the soul that matter. He also tells us that it is more important to feed the spiritual part than the physical part. The mystics believe that there are five parts to the human soul. The physical body is one-fifth of the soul. Even though the physical body is essential and must be maintained, spiritual development is the most important.
Therefore, if you have an opportunity to work on your spirituality or your physical body, it is best to work on the spiritual body. The care of the spiritual body will be reflected in the physical body. So, we are to attend to the spiritual parts of our souls. A person's inner beauty is 4/5ths of their soul. It is important to remember this. The lesson from the movie "Shallow Hal" is that the inner person, the spirit, is more critical than physical looks.
I had a friend in College who developed a list of what his future wife had to have. The first six entries were physical appearance. He eventually found that woman and married her. He was lucky in that their spirits meshed and their marriage went well. Perhaps a large number of divorces in the United States is because people look at the physical appearance, not the spiritual.
The bar scene in the big cities has a collection of well-dressed, sexy people looking for a partner. Many people find a partner by looks. These relationships are superficial because they never look inside the person to understand their spirits.
Jesus tells us to let go of superficial attributes that do not last long. A life partner's choice should be based on the couple's spirits. Jesus knows that we need to find a life journey partner. In addition, the relationship should be one of love and generosity. Do not let physical appearance be your only criterion for selecting that life partner. If you do only use physical appearance, you may find yourself alone after a few years.
Maybe it is good that there are no actual images of Jesus. There are plenty of church versions of Jesus, but none directly of him. This forced us to be in a relationship with Jesus through his words and actions. It does not matter what Jesus looked like. It did not matter if he was tall or short, fat or skinny. He was Jesus, the one who taught us to care for our bodies and soul. When you think about Jesus give thought to his loving and caring spirit, which will love you if you love Him.
