Millionaire and “Mr. Wonderful” on the TV show Shark Tank, Kevin O’Leary, was asked what he thought about the 85 richest people on Earth that are worth as much as half the world’s population. O’Leary’s response – “It’s fantastic. This is a great thing because it inspires everybody, gets them motivation to look up to the one percent and say, ‘I want to become one of those people, I’m going to fight hard to get up to the top.’”
The co-host’s shocked response, “So somebody living on $1 a day in Africa is getting up in the morning and saying, ‘I’m going to be Bill Gates’?” “Yes, that’s the motivation everybody needs.”
After I got over shaking my head on such an idiotic statement, I realized it’s about invisibility. Poor people are invisible to Mr. Wonderful. So I began to think about being invisible.
When playing “Peek-a-boo” with my granddaughter she truly believes she’s invisible. I asked where did she go and she believes she’s invisible – until I take the blanket off her head. I remember playing Hide and Seek with my kids and they were invisible behind the curtains or in the closet until I found them. Even in a Treasure Hunt, the item we hid was invisible until it was found.
A couple things about being invisible. First, there’s always a revealing – the blanket gets taken away, you find the kid in the closet, the treasure is found. Second, there’s a tension between invisible and obvious – the grandparent knows they are under the blanket, we see the legs standing below the coats in the closet, we know the treasure is behind the couch.
In Romans 1: 19-20 we read, They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. Forever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see God’s invisible qualities—God’s eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
If we are aware, God is revealed in a beautiful sunrise, in a bird’s song, in the wind through the trees, or in the crashing of waves. If we are aware, God is revealed in the call from a friend, from the right song at the right time, in a phrase in a book, or in sharing a laugh.
Things that seem invisible become obvious. God has made things obvious and when we look for God’s invisible qualities they are constantly being revealed. Just like the giggle from under the blanket, from the bump in the curtains, and from the shriek of discovery.
There is always a revealing. There’s a tension between invisible and obvious. Mr. Wonderful (and we too) need to see all that’s invisible in plain sight.