Not Fitting In

One day when I was in college I was walking across campus with some friends and we passed by a small group of protesters.  They were holding signs and what not.  One of the people in the group had long dreadlocks, tattoos and piercings (this was before tattoos and piercings were as common as today).  Then I noticed that I knew this guy.  We had been is scouts together when we were younger and we had worked together at summer camp.  I actually knew him pretty well.  So I went over to talk to him and catch up.  The friends that I was walking with were a bit surprised that I knew someone "like that".

A few years later, I was traveling in California.  The same friend was living out there in Berkeley. I stopped and stayed with him a couple of days.  The person who was traveling with me was a bit taken back by our host's appearance, but said nothing.  Until we had been there two days, when he comes up to me and says, "You know your friend, he's really all right."  In our society we are quick to judge by outward appearances.  While piercings and tattoos have become more mainstream, we still judge.  In some circles, the lack of tattoos and piercings is probably a social stigma.  I wouldn't be surprised to hear that in Berkeley they were saying about me, "your friend is a bit plain, but he seems all right anyway."

As much as we can be separated by appearance, a larger barrier can be our attitudes and values.  My friend had an appearance that was different, but he was the same person inside.  

I once heard a speaker talk about priority systems of the various social classes.  I personally grew and live in the middle class.  This of course affects the way that I see the world.  According to the speaker, the upper class or über-rich place a high value on status.  If I were to become suddenly wealthy and bought a home in that neighborhood, it would be virtually impossible to break into their society.  In their circles, association with someone "like me" would lower their social standing.  We see the world differently.

 

As Christians we are called to have attitudes that are different than our class or upbringing.  We are called to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and think of others more than ourselves.  This attitude is different in every social class, but it is the embodiment of the way that Christ lived while here on the Earth.  It is what we are called to be.  We are called to live a life that causes others to think, "That person is a little different."

Watch this clip from Pastor Lowell.

Thinking of others before ourselves is a peculiar way to be in our society.  But that is exactly what we are called to do.