http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+5:14&version=NIV1984
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+7:9&version=NIV1984
I don’t know about you but every once in a while I wish more people were like me. This is not to say that I’m anything special. But at least there would some consistency in life. Like when I’m driving. It seems that people either drive 20 mph over the speed limit or 20 mph under it. What’s wrong with just doing the speed limit? And there are people who go through lights when they are red. Or they take up 2 parking spots when they park. I don’t do any of these things. Therefore people should be more like me.
Have you ever thought about that? A world exactly like you? At first, it sounds like it has a lot of advantages, doesn’t it? Everyone would dress like us. No outrageous clothing. No dresses or blouses that reveal too much. No dressing in sweats all the time. No wild hairdos. No tattoos that run up our neck. Or cover our entire arm. No one driving a gas-guzzling Hummer. Or the pint-sized mini-Cooper. No drunkenness. No addiction to drugs. No gambling. No swearing. Everyone would take care of their homes and apartments. Inside and out. They would take care of their children. And their pets. They would read their Bibles. And pray. And churches would be packed and have to build additions since everyone would attend. Crime would drop to zero. Along with the divorce rate. Communicable diseases would practically disappear. And since everyone was exactly like us, we would all be able to get along together. No more misunderstandings. No difference in skin color. Or nationalities. No gender barriers. Or language barriers. Yes, if the entire world was only like us it would be much better. Pretty close to Heaven, don’t you think?
Yet, even as we look at all of the upside of a world exactly like us, we would be faced with the fact that there would be an immense amount of downside, too. For starters, if everyone was exactly like us, one of the genders would be missing. That would mean no marriages. No children. No complementation where our spouse brings talents and gifts that we are missing. Speaking of talents and gifts, about 90% of them would disappear. All the talents and gifts that we don’t have would be gone. Depending upon just exactly what gifts and talents we have, the medical profession could disappear entirely. No doctors, nurses, surgeons, pharmacists or X-ray technicians. No educators - teachers, professors or administrators. No engineers. No waiters or waitresses. No business owners. No salespeople. No construction workers. Or architects. No assembly-workers. No artists. Or comediennes. No actors or actresses. No musicians. Or authors.
The fact is, that since everyone would be exactly like us there would little or no variety. Everyone would pretty much look the same. Act the same. Talk the same. Think the same. As much as we like our own personal style and tastes, pretty soon it would get boring. No one to stimulate us. Or challenge us. Or confront us. A world of me’s. Just exactly what kind of world would that be? Well, it wouldn’t be paradise, that’s for sure!
The truth is that while others are often the source of our problems and difficulties they are also the source of our joy and happiness. That’s the way it is. The good with the bad. We can’t have one without the other. So different is good. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. Apparently God knew what He was doing after all when He created humankind. And to think that, at times, we feel that we could have done it better! Not a chance!
I hope that we appreciate the differentness and uniqueness of others around us. Type A personalities and Type B. Tall and short. Serious and funny. Male and female. Young and old. They all are a part of God’s fantastic creative genius. Every one of them bears His image. This means that we ought to do far less complaining. And far more thanking. Thanking God that the world is not exactly just like us. That He had a better plan. A plan to take that all that uniqueness and unite it in His love. It’s a plan that’s still in the works. A plan that will finally be realized in Heaven.
Have you ever thought about that? A world exactly like you? At first, it sounds like it has a lot of advantages, doesn’t it? Everyone would dress like us. No outrageous clothing. No dresses or blouses that reveal too much. No dressing in sweats all the time. No wild hairdos. No tattoos that run up our neck. Or cover our entire arm. No one driving a gas-guzzling Hummer. Or the pint-sized mini-Cooper. No drunkenness. No addiction to drugs. No gambling. No swearing. Everyone would take care of their homes and apartments. Inside and out. They would take care of their children. And their pets. They would read their Bibles. And pray. And churches would be packed and have to build additions since everyone would attend. Crime would drop to zero. Along with the divorce rate. Communicable diseases would practically disappear. And since everyone was exactly like us, we would all be able to get along together. No more misunderstandings. No difference in skin color. Or nationalities. No gender barriers. Or language barriers. Yes, if the entire world was only like us it would be much better. Pretty close to Heaven, don’t you think?
Yet, even as we look at all of the upside of a world exactly like us, we would be faced with the fact that there would be an immense amount of downside, too. For starters, if everyone was exactly like us, one of the genders would be missing. That would mean no marriages. No children. No complementation where our spouse brings talents and gifts that we are missing. Speaking of talents and gifts, about 90% of them would disappear. All the talents and gifts that we don’t have would be gone. Depending upon just exactly what gifts and talents we have, the medical profession could disappear entirely. No doctors, nurses, surgeons, pharmacists or X-ray technicians. No educators - teachers, professors or administrators. No engineers. No waiters or waitresses. No business owners. No salespeople. No construction workers. Or architects. No assembly-workers. No artists. Or comediennes. No actors or actresses. No musicians. Or authors.
The fact is, that since everyone would be exactly like us there would little or no variety. Everyone would pretty much look the same. Act the same. Talk the same. Think the same. As much as we like our own personal style and tastes, pretty soon it would get boring. No one to stimulate us. Or challenge us. Or confront us. A world of me’s. Just exactly what kind of world would that be? Well, it wouldn’t be paradise, that’s for sure!
The truth is that while others are often the source of our problems and difficulties they are also the source of our joy and happiness. That’s the way it is. The good with the bad. We can’t have one without the other. So different is good. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. Apparently God knew what He was doing after all when He created humankind. And to think that, at times, we feel that we could have done it better! Not a chance!
I hope that we appreciate the differentness and uniqueness of others around us. Type A personalities and Type B. Tall and short. Serious and funny. Male and female. Young and old. They all are a part of God’s fantastic creative genius. Every one of them bears His image. This means that we ought to do far less complaining. And far more thanking. Thanking God that the world is not exactly just like us. That He had a better plan. A plan to take that all that uniqueness and unite it in His love. It’s a plan that’s still in the works. A plan that will finally be realized in Heaven.
Lord, while I thank you for my unique gifts, talents and personality I also thank you that everyone is not like me. Thank you for kindred spirits and people who are polar opposites. Thank you for people whom I agree with and people whom I disagree with. Thank you for the incredible variety that there is in humankind. How it speaks to Your creative genius. Help me not to complain about the different-ness of others but to thank You for how others make my life fuller. Richer. Better. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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