Recently I had the privilege of traveling to see the Broadway musical Wicked. In preparation for my journey I borrowed the soundtrack from a local library, read the inner leaflet, and memorized a half a dozen songs. For those unfamiliar with the show, it aims to tell the back-story of the Wicked Witch of the West. Roughly 45 seconds into the opening number the people of Oz announce (in song of course) the theme of the whole production: “Goodness knows the wicked’s lives are lonely. Goodness knows the wicked cry alone. Nothing grows for the wicked, they reap only what they’ve sown.” Glinda, the fair creature that transports herself via bubble, chimes in: “Are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?” The character cast as the town ditz is on to something…and the implications of an answer continues to challenge me.
Growing up as a Wizard of Oz fanatic, I had never thought to ask why the Witch ended up with such a bundle of unbecoming characteristics. It is not a bad question. I mean seriously, why did she prefer the company of disfigured primates to that of human beings? What would fuel this green woman to forcefully seek out her sisters red shoes? Did she have a weird fetish? Was it greed? Vengeance? Justice? Stimulated by the possibilities, potential plot lines reeled through my mind: maybe it was childhood abuse, an adolescent accident involving a nuke plant that tainted her skin and attitude, or maybe she kissed too many green frogs looking for her prince. Despite my various versions, nothing I fathomed aligned with the pen of the stories author. As is turns out, this Witch of the West wasn’t wicked at all. She was still emerald in tone, but not jaded towards her existence. Her actions were often attempts to bring life, restore unity and promote love. As a result of her outer shell, the villagers expected the worst and thus spun their interpretations of her behaviors in an unconstructive light. She was misread. So many people are.
Oswald Chambers once said, “The average Christian is the most penetratingly critical individual.” If Chambers is accurate, and from my experience he isn’t far from the truth, one has to ask why. Why are those who are supposed to be laden with love so judgmental? I could be wrong, but I’ve been wondering if the root of judgment is fear. Our “Safety First” mindsets create a desire to rid ourselves of that which is frightening. I can think of few things as unsettling as ambiguity and so we rush to establish categories in which to assign people. “This one is not a threat to me, so he is good. That one makes me uncomfortable, she must be bad.” Once allocated, we can manipulate those around us. For all intensive purposes, it seems easier to control people then to love them. Love always costs us something. Sometimes it is our security.
Who scares you? I’d venture to say that there is always one detail more in every person’s story about which we know nothing. Maybe it is in that one fact that we can empathize with their current tics. After all, “I have never met the man I could despair of after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God (Chambers).”
