The Eye of the Beholder

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

-Romans 12:1-2

“Eye of the Beholder” is another extremely popular episode of The Twilight Zone, so you may already be familiar with it. If you aren’t, consider this your spoiler warning!

It’s about a young woman named Janet who undergoes a procedure to bring her appearance more in line with her society’s beauty standards. She spends most of the episode with her face covered in bandages, while the doctors and nurses caring for her remain conveniently in shadow or just out of frame.

The shocking twist comes when the doctors remove Janet’s bandages to reveal a woman the audience would consider beautiful. The camera then reveals the faces of the medical staff, whose features look strange and distorted to us. In their world, however, those features are normal. Janet is the one whose appearance is unacceptable.

The obvious lesson, signaled by the title, is that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” But the episode pushes us further. What happens when a society decides that everyone must conform to its standards? Who gets to determine what is acceptable, and what happens to people who don’t fit?

For those of us in the church, there is a lot to consider here. Throughout Scripture, God calls a people to a distinctive way of life. Israel’s laws shaped everything from food and worship to the treatment of workers, strangers, and the poor. These practices helped form a people whose daily lives reflected their covenant with God. Holiness carries this sense of being “set apart”—belonging to God and living accordingly.

Paul reminds the early church that this calling requires intentional nonconformity. “Do not be conformed to this age.” In other words, don’t assume that something is good simply because everyone has agreed that it is normal.

That sounds straightforward until we consider what we’ve learned to accept. We’re told that getting even is satisfying, that accumulating more is the measure of success, and that people who need help probably have themselves to blame. After hearing these things often enough, they can start to sound like common sense.

Then Jesus tells us to love our enemies, give generously, and care for people who can offer us nothing in return. Suddenly, following Jesus makes us look a little strange.

Of course, being different isn’t the same as being faithful. We aren’t contrarians for the sake of being contrarians. Paul gives us a purpose for our nonconformity: learning to discern the will of God. Our lives should become more recognizable by their love, grace, and mercy.

Belonging matters, and standing out can be lonely. That’s part of why we need the church. We need a community where we can encourage one another to practice the sometimes peculiar ways of Jesus.

So let's take a moment today to examine our own lives. Where are we practicing the peculiar ways of Jesus? Where do we choose love when we’re tempted toward hatred, grace when we’d rather pass judgment, or generosity when we’d rather hold tightly to what we have?

Rev. Ryan Young