As I've grown older my wine palate has matured somewhat. I've graduated into an appreciation for the Pinot Grigio's, the Merlot's and Cabernet Sauvignon's of the world. Although far from an aficionado, I've not only developed a taste for different types of wine but an interest in the subject of wine itself. That is why a blog post I came across recently caught my attention.
In an entry titled The Subjectivity of Wine, posted in his blog The Frontal Cortex, Jonah Lehrer recounts the details of a wine tasting experiment that was conducted in 2001. The results were intriguing. Lehrer writes, "In 2001, Frederic Brochet, of the University of Bordeaux, conducted two separate and very mischievous experiments. In the first test, Brochet invited 57 wine experts and asked them to give their impressions of what looked like two glasses of red and white wine. The wines were actually the same white wine, one of which had been tinted red with food coloring. But that didn't stop the experts from describing the "red" wine in language typically used to describe red wines. One expert praised its "jamminess," while another enjoyed its "crushed red fruit." Not a single one noticed it was actually a white wine."
Lehrer continues, "The second test Brochet conducted was even more damning. He took a middling Bordeaux and served it in two different bottles. One bottle was a fancy grand-cru. The other bottle was an ordinary vin du table. Despite the fact that they were actually being served the exact same wine, the experts gave the differently labeled bottles nearly opposite ratings. The grand cru was 'agreeable, woody, complex, balanced and rounded,' while the vin du table was 'weak, short, light, flat and faulty'. Forty experts said the wine with the fancy label was worth drinking, while only twelve said the cheap wine was."
My conclusion upon reading this?
- My affinity for Trader Joe's "two buck chuck" maybe isn't all that crazy after all, and
- How easily duped we are by what we see on the label.
The Pharisees spent a great deal of time focusing on externals. Jesus wasn't too kind to them. In fact, He went to great lengths not just to condemn their shallow, skin deep religion, but to model the complete opposite. In many ways His ministry on earth was a study in contrasts between a religion focused on the outside and one focused on the inside.
While the pharisees made wide their phylacteries and enlarged the borders of their garments in order to set themselves apart as the spiritual leaders of the people, Jesus sought out a man dressed in camel's hair and leather belt.
While the pharisees loved the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, Jesus purposely let it be known that the Son of Man had no place to rest His head.
While the Pharisees chose to hang with the who's who of their day, Jesus hung out with sinners, tax collector's and publican's, those considered the dregs of society.
In Matthew 23, Jesus, condemning their shallow, external religion, says "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within you are full of extortion and excess. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."
Before we shake our heads in disgust at the wickedness of the Pharisees, it's important to remember that there is the potential for a little Pharisee in all of us. If there wasn't, God wouldn't have seen fit to devote so much attention in His Word to the contrast.
Someone recently shared with me the story of a couple who lost their luggage one year en route to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. Showing up to services for the first few days, wearing basically their travel clothes, they were shocked by the disapproving glances and judgmental stares they received from the brethren. These poor believers, because they didn't look the part, were made to feel like outcasts in a sea of dark suits and dresses.
Our human nature's proclivity for judging based on the externals isn't limited only to clothing. How easy is it for us to put labels on the man on whose breath we sense the faint smell of cigarette smoke or alcohol, while embracing the guy who may be cheating on his taxes or, worse yet, his spouse? Both men might be struggling and striving to overcome their weakness, but we are quick to judge the one before the other based on what we see. We make judgments about what's in the bottle based purely on the label.
In I Samuel 16:17 God instructs Samuel, to whom He had given the task of searching out a King to rule Israel, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
To summarize: God isn't impressed with what's on the label. He's all about what's on the inside of the bottle.
I don't think my palate nor my pocketbook will ever allow me to appreciate the difference between a quality aged wine and the two buck chuck I enjoy from my local Trader Joe's. Based on the results of that wine tasting experiment, I take consolation in the knowledge that it probably doesn't really matter. If what's in my glass tastes like fine wine, that's good enough for me.
God grant me the spiritual depth and maturity to see my brothers and sisters in Christ the same way.
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