Missing Out (Episode One: Uniqueness vs Uniformity)

Sometimes I'm amazed at just how hypocritical we as a society can be.

Here's what I mean by this: As a society we value our own individuality very highly. We express our uniqueness through our clothing, our interests, and our opinions. Both parents and children consider independence as a sign of maturity. We praise individuals and celebrities who stand out from the crowd and are "comfortable just being themselves" . It would seem from the outside that our society holds the uniqueness of individuals as a high value, but I don't think this is the case.

If we look at the people we value, and the attributes in those people that we value we see a different trend. When it comes to our relationships we choose (for the most part) to hang out with people who are just like us, and we tend to avoid and reject people who are different than us.

I enjoy hanging out with musicians and music lovers because I'm a musician. Most of my close friends love movies, and so we talk about movies. Most of my friends talk the way I talk, use the same slang that I do, have similar fashion styles (I know that's probably an insult to most of my friends, sorry), enjoy the same TV shows, agree with me politically, have similar values to me, and so on and so forth.

What we see is that: We prize uniqueness in ourselves, but we demand uniformity in our relationships.

Everyone wants to be unique. Not necessarily unique in a bad way, but we want to be noticed and loved for who we are as an individual. However, when it comes to our relationships, we want everyone we hang out with to be the same as us. In fact, if someone is different than us or holds different opinions than us or does certain things different than us they rub us the wrong way, and we reject them as a potential friend.

Now, I'm not saying that it's not understandable that certain people get on your nerves, because we're all sinful, and many times people have sinful habits that are annoying. In fact, it makes sense that not everybody clicks, but we should be able to love and value the God-given uniqueness within everybody. Especially when it comes to the uniqueness of opinions.

The largest area where I see people craving uniformity from their close friends is when it comes to the area of their opinions. Most people don't want to hang around with someone who has different opinions than them, because it either makes them feel uncomfortable, they're offended by it, or they just feel the need to have their opinions validated all the time. However, the truth is is that when our opinions and world views are challenged we experience growth. We either find new ways to affirm our own beliefs or we realize that we were wrong (God forbid) and we change our thinking. Unfortunately most of us don't get this experience often (myself included), because we surround ourselves with people who validate our own opinions.

The ultimate issue here is that as we pick and choose who we will allow into our group of friends based on these differences, we avoid those who God has called us to love. God has convicted me lately on the fact that there are people I am in relationship with that I choose to avoid, because they annoy me or they're different from me in some offensive or uncomfortable way, and I am not loving them in a Christ-like way.

Just as I have no right to pick and choose who I will love, I also don't have the right to pick and choose who I will share the gospel with, and if I choose not to build a relationship with someone based off of silly differences, I am choosing to not share the gospel with them.

If Jesus (who is holiness embodied) can hang out with those who not only sin but make sin their business, then I think I can hang out with people who I disagree with or who get on my nerves.

God created each of us to be unique, and to be valued and loved because of our uniqueness. We are called to love and value everyone, not just the ones who look, think, and act like we want them to.

Adventures in Missing the Point (Episode One)

I want to take a break from our series on fear, and talk a little bit about current events.

I'm pretty sure the biggest news in Christianity in the past few weeks has been a small group of people who have been fanatical about spreading the news that the rapture will occur on May 21st, 2011 at 6pm. Whether you believe in the rapture or when it will happen, we all have had at least one conversation about this group (even if the conversation was full of sarcasm).

It's easy to make this conversation about humor and how ridiculous these people are. It's easy to make a big joke out of all of this, and to point out all of their mistakes. Let me be clear, I think there is a lot of harm being done by this situation, but I'm not sure that everyone involved is "crazy". I think that they're misguided and misinformed, but I think they believe they're doing the right thing, even though I believe that they're causing more harm than good. However, it has caused me to focus on one issue that I think the majority of Christians get wrong.

Let me start by explaining that this post is as much for me as it is for the rest of you. Thanks for listening in on my conversation with God.

I don't believe that the world is going to end on May 21st, 2011 at 6pm. However, I do believe that it could end on May 21st. I believe that the world could end today. I believe that the world could end before I finish writing this blog post or before you get done reading it. The question isn't when do I believe the world is going to end (because scripture tells us only God knows that). The question is do I live like the world could end at any moment?

As I've watched the news coverage of the groups of people who believe in the May 21st theory, God has drawn my attention to one thing. These people aren't content with anyone being "left behind" when Jesus comes back. These people truly believe that the world is going to end tomorrow afternoon, and they've gone so radical that they've taken to the streets to let people know.

Once again, I don't think their methods are good or effective, and I believe their more detrimental to the cause of Christ than anything. I'm choosing not to judge their motives even though I'm aware that there are many people who do these things out of obedience, guilt, and even fear. What I can admire is the fact that they're so desperate for people to know about grace and about Christ that they're willing to risk humiliation in order for it to happen. My fear that a four minute conversation might be a little awkward keeps me from talking to family and friends.

I think what all Christians should ask themselves is whether they're taking advantage of every conversation they have. Do you leverage all of your influence in your relationships? Do you regularly focus on the urgency of the issue? Do you daily think about how today could be the day that Christ comes back? Are you confident that all of your family and friends are in relationship with Jesus Christ?

I have been incredibly convicted this week that I have been lazy with the relationships God has given me. We have to always remember we're not playing pretend here, this is real life. These are real people with real eternal destinations, we can't afford to focus on this temporary life. We have to be regularly focused on the urgency and reality of eternity.

When I think about how real and urgent this is, I become so thankful that Christ provided someone to talk to me about Him. And I'm so thankful that Christ gives me the opportunity to be that person for my family and friends. But I also feel the weight of the urgency of this issue.

I don't write this so that you'll feel guilty, because guilt doesn't lead to change. I write this so that you can be reminded and motivated to turn your relationships over to God. God has given you influence over certain people, but influence doesn't last forever. No one knows how long your influence will last. Choose to give your influence over to God, and allow Him to move through you to reach our world.