WATCH FOR THE MISTAKE

Watch for the Mistakes!
Yesterday our students participated in an all-day cultural dance competition here in the village of Durtlang. There were seven other schools – hundreds, perhaps a thousand kids. Mizo people as melodious and agile as any people on earth! Just a prejudiced opinion since I haven’t seen all the rest! These cultural dances have their roots in their agricultural heritage and battles of long ago. They are especially renowned for their illustrious Cheraw (bamboo) dances.
The same two dances were performed by each of the schools. So, it was bamboo banging from 10 AM till 3 PM with an hour’s break for lunch.
Two judges sat on opposite sides of the dances—with a pretty young lady holding an umbrella over each of them to shield him from the sun, and ultimately from the rain before the program moved indoors. Maybe judging isn’t such a bad job after all!
This was our school’s first appearance in this kind of competition. The roof was lifted when the judges concluded at the day’s end that we were number one! Number one is most often easy to take!
However, I pondered as to how the judges could place one performance ahead of any of the others. Admittedly, they know a lot more about bamboo dancing than I ever will. However, I inquired as to what the selection process might be. I should have guessed it on my own. You and I have seen (and done it often enough)—“count the mistakes”.
And I thought of other competitions: figure skating, ballet, musical recitals, concerts, speech making, and on and on. Some of us, in our “professionalism” find it difficult to enjoy entertainment, church, ballgames, … because we are entrenched in a mind-set opposite to (1 Corinthians 13) love which “keeps no record of wrongs.” Everything “could be done better”, at least from my lofty perspective!
Back to the dance! Perhaps I was at an ignorant advantage … not knowing where to look for mistakes and being absolutely positive that I could never improve on the performance of the most novice bamboo dancer.
So, may I carry that ignorance (or grace) to the many other imperfect performances of my fellow pilgrimagers.