Turn On The Lights

Ephesians 5:8-14

The other day in school the English teacher did an activity to introduce The Wife of Bath from Canterbury Tales in a way I thought to be interesting. She asked the class to come up with 5 things they think women want, then had them share their choices in little groups and decide which one was most important. Then from those choices they were asked to find the top 3.

It was joyful to walk around and watch the boys struggle with finding the answers and the girls try to narrow the choices to 5. Most, not all, of the boys chose things which had a lot to do with how a woman looked or owning material belongings. A rich husband, jewels, being skinny, and the like made their list.

On the other hand, most, and again not all, of the girls picked relational things. Someone who understands them, a partner who would pay attention to them, and independence without being alone were just some of their choices. It was an interesting activity, and eye-opening for many of the teenagers in that room.

While I was walking around the room I overheard a conversation centered around how women want the toilet seat left down and how there's always an argument in this one student's house between he and his 3 sisters. The girls at his table helped explain that they ask for the seat to be left down because when they use the bathroom in the dark they will fall into the toilet if the seat isn't down.

His response was classic: "Turn on the lights, then."

Sometimes it really is that easy. Turning on the lights helps us to see things more clearly.