The Stain: A Parable

#56

Friend,

Sandra had to get the stain off of her hands. Her job interview was in 30 minutes, and you can't have dirty hands when you shake a new one.

When she washed her hands, the marks were still there.

She used more soap, but that didn't help.

She used only hot water, but that only made her stained hands suffer.

She had to go, so she grabbed some gloves, but who wears gloves inside? What will they think when they see all those marks on her knuckles? Surely, that will be the only thing they see she thought.

She concocted stories the whole drive, but the truth is that what she thought was washable was permanent. When she arrived, she went to the bathroom and scrubbed even more vigorously, but the marks were there for all to see.

Holding back tears, she took a deep breath and walked into the job interview, and then she saw it.

He had a ketchup stain on his shirt. When she went to shake his hand, he apologized for the shirt and told her a story about a greasy hamburger with too much ketchup. She told him a story about the mishap with markers. They both laughed, shook their heads together, and sat down at the same time relieved that perfection was no longer possible.

The Explanation: As with all parables, there is a vagueness and ambiguity that allows for your own interpretation and meaning. Here is my explanation. This is a parable about shame. The stain, the dirty hands, the frequent washing. When we feel shame, we try to find ways to cover our shame, especially in high-leverage situations. We think our failures will be the only thing that people see. I never did say how big the stain was, only that it was still there. How big did you imagine the stains to be?

And it seems to be an honest mistake (what she thought was washable was permanent), and yet her fear is convincing her that the stain is the most noticeable thing about her.

I was hoping that the tension is building throughout the parable and that you have been there. Here this woman is about to go to a job interview and all she can think about is the stain on her hands, but notice that the tension was relieved when she saw it. And they bonded over their mutual imperfections. This is our human story. It is our vulnerabilities that connect us. I love what Craig Groeschel has said, "We might impress people with our strengths, but we connect with people through our weaknesses."

Love,

Aaron