How different are you
I have given much thought lately about the differences in people. This goes from skin color, religious affiliation, profession, sexual orientation, to hobbies and special interest. I felt it was important to see how vastly different we may be. To my fascination and with the help of many people I learned that we are not as different as I originally thought.
What I found were people that struggled to accept the small differences in each other. Look at skin color for a moment. Regardless of the shade of our epidermis we are still male and female. We still eat, breath, have families, careers, etc. None of us our inhabited by aliens we simply bare a different skin tone. The bitterness between color is 100% man made not God made. Remember God made us different so that we may be one. It is Jesus who said we are all part of one body.
Religion as to be expected was big but not as big as you would think when you discuss it one on one with people. Most folks truly do struggle to understand what they believe because walking with faith is easier said than done. In groups or at church it is not to so complicated to join in the masses with an expression of belief however when alone the truth is we all wonder about the mystery of our spiritual being. Just think how awesome the discussions could be if we gave ourselves permission to discuss openly how we really feel about our faith based state of being. I bet with open dialogue we could grow together and better understand God in our lives.
Hobbies and special interest are not huge dividers unless your friends team is facing yours then hopefully it is more fun than anything else. How we make our money or our profession certainly creates more division than you would think. My mother raised my sister and I as a waitress and I witnessed first hand how some people treat those that are in what they consider lower professions. Whether we like it or not there is a socioeconomic pecking order that if allowed can place the wealthy higher up the ladder than the poor. Thank goodness Jesus understood this one and always reversed the order and placed the poor first. This is an area that we have lots of room to grow and learn. Maybe the model Christ set out is worth reading.
Sexual orientation ranks up there with politics, some accept it and some it scares to death and some it literally makes mad. Regardless how we view others we must remember that they are human, they have feelings and just like skin tone they are male and female. I choose to accept the differences in sexual orientation because I am confident in God's ability to create good loving people. When we accept others we expand our base of friends and learn how good it feels to be united and not divided.
At the end of the day division, hate, bigotry, jealousy and all others things that separate us are human choices. It is learned behavior that is not God given. People are inherently good and if given the opportunity can be positive contributors to society. When you look at some of the mass crimes (not all of them) of late many are from people that were either bullied, abused, made fun of, cast out, or simply not loved. We as creatures of God have responsibility to love and accept people we see as different. Trust me when I say this, you and I are different too. We have our own set of issues and thoughts that others may find weird. Let's learn to grow and live in unity and who knows we just might be able to build our faith as Christ would want it built.
peace to you
dale
What I found were people that struggled to accept the small differences in each other. Look at skin color for a moment. Regardless of the shade of our epidermis we are still male and female. We still eat, breath, have families, careers, etc. None of us our inhabited by aliens we simply bare a different skin tone. The bitterness between color is 100% man made not God made. Remember God made us different so that we may be one. It is Jesus who said we are all part of one body.
Religion as to be expected was big but not as big as you would think when you discuss it one on one with people. Most folks truly do struggle to understand what they believe because walking with faith is easier said than done. In groups or at church it is not to so complicated to join in the masses with an expression of belief however when alone the truth is we all wonder about the mystery of our spiritual being. Just think how awesome the discussions could be if we gave ourselves permission to discuss openly how we really feel about our faith based state of being. I bet with open dialogue we could grow together and better understand God in our lives.
Hobbies and special interest are not huge dividers unless your friends team is facing yours then hopefully it is more fun than anything else. How we make our money or our profession certainly creates more division than you would think. My mother raised my sister and I as a waitress and I witnessed first hand how some people treat those that are in what they consider lower professions. Whether we like it or not there is a socioeconomic pecking order that if allowed can place the wealthy higher up the ladder than the poor. Thank goodness Jesus understood this one and always reversed the order and placed the poor first. This is an area that we have lots of room to grow and learn. Maybe the model Christ set out is worth reading.
Sexual orientation ranks up there with politics, some accept it and some it scares to death and some it literally makes mad. Regardless how we view others we must remember that they are human, they have feelings and just like skin tone they are male and female. I choose to accept the differences in sexual orientation because I am confident in God's ability to create good loving people. When we accept others we expand our base of friends and learn how good it feels to be united and not divided.
At the end of the day division, hate, bigotry, jealousy and all others things that separate us are human choices. It is learned behavior that is not God given. People are inherently good and if given the opportunity can be positive contributors to society. When you look at some of the mass crimes (not all of them) of late many are from people that were either bullied, abused, made fun of, cast out, or simply not loved. We as creatures of God have responsibility to love and accept people we see as different. Trust me when I say this, you and I are different too. We have our own set of issues and thoughts that others may find weird. Let's learn to grow and live in unity and who knows we just might be able to build our faith as Christ would want it built.
peace to you
dale
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