WORK IN PROGRESS... I'm still chewing on the thoughts that follow:
The other day, I was playing with words in my head. A thought ran through my brain- the opposite of understand could be overstand. Because in my head, if you’re not under, you’re over, right? Well, not really… but stick with me for a minute.
What about this play on words placed within in human actions? We know what “understand” means, so what could “overstand” mean?
When I started really chewing on this, I got kind of mad. This is what came out first:
So when you overstander’s take your stand, you very literally plant your heels into concrete. You say with firmness that you know with certainty that the rest of the world knows nothing. You and your overstanding literally stand over the issue, breathing down its neck with condemnation and curl your nose at the pungent stench of those who aren’t fit to wipe your concrete fitted feet. You overstand as if to teach your lesson, or remind the world of how great you are and small it is. You overstand with your puffed up regurgitated “knowledge”. You overstand when you fail to see your presence and your force and your arrogance cause others to fall down. You who overstand often overstand Jesus.
Let me tell you something you who overstand who have buried yourselves in concrete, once it sets, you cannot remove your feet. And if, by chance, someone knocks you over—you better hope you aren’t standing firm beside a deep pool of water. Your overstanding will drown you, friend, and who will rescue you? If you’ve took your stand over Jesus, will he rescue you? Will you beg forgiveness as you slip to the bottom of the pool or will you until your last breath, insist you are right?
So that was brutal. In fact, I can almost guarantee that someone reading this just got really mad. Calm yourself, friend. Let me continue to chew on this thought.
The next thought that came to mind was the saying “you can’t see the forest for the trees”. I’ve never used that phrase before, but I’ve heard it often. What does that me in Melissa’s World? Simply put, I suppose it means some people attach themselves to small, possibly insignificant details therefore hindering them from seeing the big picture. Are we capable of seeing the entire big picture? That I don’t know. I figure we’re human and our minds are pretty limited. However, some of us ascribe to the existence of a big picture and we do not ascribe to the fact that we know everything.
When you look at it this way, there is a big difference between understanding and overstanding. When we attempt to understand, we (me, myself, and I) take a back seat. We open our minds, our hearts, our lives to see life as something more that our possession. By journeying towards an understanding, we gain knowledge, perspective, and wisdom. And in gaining those things, we gain life. With humility, we process the information or the situation that has presented itself. We don’t go getting all puffed up and incensed about whatever is before us. We work towards understanding—becoming small enough to stand under whatever “it” is.
There is a time and a place to take a stand. There may be instances where we need to take on a form of overstanding. There are issues that are worth digging our heels in and fighting for. But our responses to those issues should be well thought out and your knowledge should be factually based.
What are you dealing with today? Are you understanding or overstanding? You could be at risk of being pushed into a situation where you will drown yourself because you got too big for your britches. (I LOVE that saying, btw!) Maybe it’s time to chill and take a step back. Maybe it’s time to understand--
Appreciate
Know
Recognize
Comprehend
Realize
Be aware of
Value
Identify with
Empathize
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