Thursday, October 22, 2015

Perspectives

We are drawn to people who are like us.  We are drawn to people who look like us, talk like us, act like us, eat like us, and laugh like us.  When we are surrounded by people who share our perspective, we are encouraged and affirmed.  In some twisted way, it serves as proof that we are right and everyone else is...at the very least, weird.

And that's a problem.

Moving through life believing that we're right, they're wrong, we're normal, and they're weird, is entirely destructive.

It gives way to pride, arrogance, self-centeredness, and just plain meanness (that last word looks weird when I type it; just FYI).

I want people in my life who look differently than me.  Talk differently than me.  Listen to different music. Watch different movies.  And eat different foods.

I'm a blonde haired, blue eyed, all-American guy.  I'm as typical as you can imagine.  I'm into the beach, music with loud guitars and crashing symbols, movies about courageous heroes who battle injustice, and I don't eat fake food.

The temptation is always to find other gluten-free, clean-eating guys who have memorized every line to Gladiator, and have dogs named Leonidas and Achilles.

But doing that would blind me to the beauty that God sees when He looks at His creation.

He values different colors, different languages, different foods, and different stages of life.

When God was ready to walk the earth with us, He chose a small country in Asia as His home!

My wife, Christy, and I are proud of our children for many reasons.  But somewhere at the top of the list is how they choose to live life with friends who don't look like them or share their backgrounds.  Our prayer is that they grow up to not just acknowledge, but actually appreciate, different perspectives.

I am not the pinnacle of God's creation.  I'm simply an expression of His affection.






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