Reach Across the Aisle
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but
be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. –
Romans 12:16 (NIV)
Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to
enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all. – Romans
12:16 (NLT)
Oh, my. I just had to share two translations of this
wonderful verse. Chances are you’ve all been in a position before where you
were excluded because of your station in life or you didn’t want to associate
with someone because of theirs.
I was never the popular kid in school. How about you?
I had my own set of friends and we were not part of the “it” group. That was
okay then. It’s more than okay now. I just wasn’t interested in being like
everyone else.
Of course, I had my moments. I wanted one of “those”
shirts with the correct label. I laugh at myself now. It was a nice shirt but
status and labels just don’t matter. They’re just surface frivolity.
The really sad thing is when we see it in our
churches. We gossip about the kids, and sometimes adults, who don’t wear a “new”
outfit on Easter Sunday. We look down on the parents who don’t host pool
parties or expensive birthday parties for their kids. And, my goodness, can’t
we be critical of clothing and manners and performance of those who attend our worship
services?
All in the name
of Jesus, of course.
One woman was obsessed with perfection. She was always
beautifully dressed. She used china and crystal when she hosted the
neighborhood card parties. She was really particular about who she invited.
Maybe she thought all that would make her happy. It didn’t. She lost her mind.
How sad.
Others believe they should only socialize with people
who are “like” them. They want to surround themselves with the same economic
class, the same ethnicity, the same denomination. They create an insulated
world that helps them hate what they don’t understand.
Several years ago our pastor urged us to sit somewhere
different on Sunday morning. He helped by having all the seats in our
contemporary service rearranged. It was certainly uncomfortable. It was also
eye opening. When we left our comfort zone, we were more open to others. We
laughed with people we’d never met. We shared conversations with people who
were way different.
Maybe that’s why we’re so hateful and angry these
days. We have no tolerance for differences. We insist that we are right all the
time in all things. We’ve forgotten what it’s like to reach across the aisle
and genuinely greet someone who is different in temperament, color, religious
traditions and political views.
We don’t have to always agree in order to live in
harmony with one another. No one is better than another. And none of us know
everything. We need to get over ourselves and learn to live with our differences.
We’ll all be happier for having done so.
No comments:
Post a Comment