I Want to Thank You
Isn’t it funny how everyone looks different? I mean funny in the way Gomer put it, “Makes ya thank.” Of all the people who have ever lived, there are no carbon copies, and that includes identical twins. God made us as individuals- a fact we can embrace or obscure but true nonetheless. See, we have a love-hate relationship with individuality. If it’s working for us, we’re all over it. At other times, we seek the shelter of the flock; the anonymity of the school.
Children seek uniformity in part because it is such a cruel time in life. Youth and adolescents are so in love with individuality that they all look and act pretty much the same. Even through the years of young adulthood, the pressure to conform never really lets up. There is a certain sense in which peer pressure increases as we age. Having slogged through these phases of life into one of reflection, I don’t believe that the other side of the mountain is any easier in this regard.
In the church-world, there is enormous pressure to conform. Ministerial students select heroes of the Christian faith or church form and pattern themselves accordingly. In youth, we compare things that have no resemblance and contrast things with no dissonance. The price of age is a better understanding of the whole. But there is a rush to judgment that is more a part of being in the “right” group than standing for the right things- even among the most sincere.
In the end, there’s not as much room for individuality in civilization as there is in creation. We different greatly. Is it even reasonable for us to all act the same or expect it of others? The Bible gives us great freedom of self-expression within the framework of God’s will. One day, we’ll all be judged on whether we have accomplished His plan for our lives, not someone else’s. And the judgment is up close and personal. Individual- just like life is and was meant to be.
We should not take the awesome right and responsibility of individuality away from people. I’ve tried to do it to others when I was afraid of their actions, and others have done it to me. I didn’t like to be on the receiving end of the stink-eye, and I suspect others feel the same. Good intentions are not a good excuse, but we’ve all made the same mistake. Commonality ought to count for something. It’s the lady or the tiger, and we all are condemned to choose.
I am not able to flower as a person, a Christian or a minister in the harsh glare of inquisition. It’s easier for me if I am allowed to be me. I don’t take it lightly. My failings are painful to me and fall short of the glory of God. My good points dissatisfy even myself, so I know they can’t pass muster with others. Despite these, I have to live life the best way I know how and allow others to do the same. For those who have accepted me, I want to thank you for letting me be myself.
Sterl
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