Familiarity Breeds Contempt

"When first the Fox saw the Lion he was terribly frightened, and ran away and hid himself in the wood. Next time however he came near the King of Beasts he stopped at a safe distance and watched him pass by. The third time they came near one another the Fox went straight up to the Lion and passed the time of day with him, asking him how his family were, and when he should have the pleasure of seeing him again; then turning his tail, he parted from the Lion without much ceremony."

Aesop, an ancient Greek fabulist (his Greek name was Aisopos), wrote the above paragraph (The Fox and the Lion) which has been used to support the first line of this lesson, Familiarity Breeds Contempt.  That is, the more someone knows something about someone or something, the more dangerous the result.

Today’s ‘The Fayetteville Church’ devotional (did you get a chance to read and ponder it yet?) is titled ‘Choosing Faith over Familiarity’.  IT’S moral is that familiarity sometimes causes people to not look at a story’s true meaning, but simply to accept the face value of it.  The authors of this devotional suggest one should dig deeper into those familiar stories and strengthen one’s faith in God.

When I read this fable from Aisopos, I DID see that such an act of growing familiarity COULD be dangerous (at least for the fox), but after further review, I would suggest a much more positive spin on the meaning of this fable: Acquaintance Softens Prejudice.

How many times have we had preconceived notions about someone magically disappear once we get to know them better?  And it is not always about race, either.  Many times when people ‘fear’ their boss, a high level official, a teacher, or even a ‘Sunday Sermon Preacher’, they tend to stay away from them.  But, once someone becomes more familiar with them, learns that they are all simply one of God’s creations and begins to know their strengths and weaknesses, then any preconceived ideas (aka prejudice) usually dissolve away.

Familiarity (or Acquaintance, if you will) with God’s Word will certainly eradicate a lot of prejudices one might have.  The more one reads the Bible, the softer one’s heart can become.  I advocate what we should do is proposed in a set of verses in the book of Psalms.  The psalmist wrote "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1:2), and again it was reiterated in Psalm 119:97 (the start of my favorite Bible passages) with "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long."  If we all spend more time reading this wonderful book, the more familiar we will become with the Almighty Creator…and that can hardly lead to contempt, rather will help us remove tons of prejudices we may have in our hearts. Read the story(ies) of the birth of Christ over and over this week—it will be great for your soul.

Do you think the Lion killed the Fox when they next met?  Or do you suppose that they became good friends, despite their differences?  My belief is that the prejudices of both disappeared, and I have faith that ours can also be dispelled if we become more familiar with others, the Bible, and Jesus Christ.