Why are they all so strange?

     Have you ever seen them?  They're all around us.  They're skinny.. fat..
loud.. arrogant.. belittling.. bright.. obtuse.. and a whole lot of other
things.  Why God ever made them is beyond my understanding.  After all.. the
world would be far better off without them, right?
     Ok.. that last paragraph was a little facetious.. nobody's really that
bad, are they?  Well.. I'll bet if you think for a few seconds you'll
discover quite a few people that measure up to at least a few of those
characteristics.  The question is, why are they that way?
     I'd like to take you on a little journey.. a journey into the depths of
humanity.  Maybe you'll see some of these people there.  Who knows.. maybe
you already do... and maybe.. just maybe.. you'll find out something about
them which you never knew before.
     
     I guess the first question to ask is, where do people like this come
from?  Well.. they come from the same place you and I do.. from the womb of
their mother.  They were conceived and grew inside their mother, just like
you and I did.  So what made the difference?  Why are they so different?  I
know of this one kid in school.. nobody really liked him.  He was often
taunted and teased.. cuz he was so good at school.  I'll bet you know
someone like him.. someone who was very good at school from an early age..
someone who was... well.. either labeled a "geek" or a "nerd".. or maybe
just a "know-it-all".  I'll bet that most of you reading this were into
teasing these kind of people too.. after all... it's what everyone else did
right?
     Let's stop a moment.. and think about this kid.  Each of you can get
someone in mind.  And in the case that you don't remember some school
"brainiac" like this kid, think of anyone who you might've called a geek,
nerd, or any other derogatory term.  People who were.. well.. beneath you.
People who you could never see yourself being friends with.. not just cuz
they were different.. but because they were.. well.. "too" different.  I'm
sure that you can think of somebody like that.
     Ok.. you've got that kid in mind.  Now.. ask yourself.. what made him
(or her) so different?  Why was he so scorned by the rest of his classmates?
And better yet.. why did he, after being scorned so much, just get worse,
rather than listening to the scorn and backing down?  I'll give you one
possible reason.. maybe because you scorned him?
     Think about it.  What if.. this kid.. this total "loser" in your eyes..
was simply acting the only way he knew how?  Maybe he didn't know about your
feelings.. maybe he was never taught to see others' hearts?  Isn't it
possible that.. for some reason.. this person was simply "uneducated" when
it came to how to relate with other people?  Picture yourself in his shoes:
You go to school.. and every time you open your mouth.. you're afraid you
might end up getting hurt.. but what really confuses you.. is that you can't
see anything that you're doing which is, in any way, shape or form, "wrong".
     That's what these kids go through.  They often are acting the only way
they know how.. and they get attacked for it.  The problem is.. nobody goes
up to them.  Nobody gives these kids a chance to find out just what they're
doing which is causing so much trouble.  And it's not too likely that the
kids are gonna come up to you.. after all.. they were the ones being hurt by
you.. why should they bother?
     There are thousands, if not millions of kids in the world that grow up
like this.  They are raised by their parents.. who are, of course,
imperfect.. and thus, raise them in ways which are, you guessed it..
imperfect.  And often.. the parents are short-sighted, so that they really
don't know what the kids are missing.  So really.. when it all comes down to
it.. you have been attacking someone for how they learned to walk.  
     These kids only know what reality has shown them... and often, due to
your choice to treat them so harshly.. they grow up with the attitude that
you all simply hate them.  So.. what do they do?  They work harder at being
who they already are.. simply because they aren't about to listen to people
who are only hurting them.
     So.. the question becomes.. what are you gonna do about it?  That's
right.. not them.. but you.  We as Christians are called to love those who
are "unloveable".. to care for those who are hard to care for.. and to be
patient with those who really try our patience.  Why?  Well.. it's pretty
simple.. every single person in the world is God's creation.. and everyone
in this world needs love.  And these kids are no exception.  Matter of fact,
these kids often need far more love than you seem to.. why?  Because you
were given the love at the start.. because you were shown what is good and
what is not.. and how to truly relate to others.. whereas these kids simply
do not know how to relate because nobody has shown them.  They get hurt no
matter what they do.. that is.. unless.. they choose to fit in.
     Gosh if I don't hate that term.  The world is not a place where one
should have to fit a mold pressed out by everyone else... because the world
is created by God.. and everyone has the right to be.. well.. right.  The
problem is.. when the "in crowd" is wrong.. it's more acceptable to be
wrong, than it is to be right.  So.. maybe.. just maybe.. you in-crowders
were more concerned for your own feelings than you were for what is truly
right.
     That's what I've seen an awful lot of.  Everyone wants to be
comfortable.. nobody wants to make the "big step" of reaching out to an
untouchable.  After all.. what will the world think?  What will the rest of
the in-crowd think if you *dared* to love someone like these kids?  
     Unfortunately.. this decision is made far too often.. and these
confused kids become confused adults.  But the wounds of their childhood do
not just go away.  In fact.. most of the time their wounds become the source
by which they judge mankind.. and by which they act and how they learn to
treat others.  Often.. after years of pain.. these kids even take their own
lives.. simply because the world has taught them that "being right" or
"being different" is unacceptable.  
     So what should we be doing about this?
     
     Well.. let's look at the Bible.. doesn't Jesus tell us to love our
neighbor as ourselves?  That means.. that if we were in their position.. 
misled and confused.. would we want help?  Would we be crying out for
someone to really love us?  Would we want someone to help us see that we're
really not that bad of a person.. but that we're loved by God.. and
beautiful in His sight?  
     The cry goes unanswered far too often.  The world is full of kids like
these.. all who need love.. all who need tender compassion.. all who want to
feel like their worthwhile.  
     "But.. but.. how can I dare to love them?  After all.. they've hurt me
so much with what they've done."  
     This statement is issued by many hearts every day.  People refuse to
love others because they can't bear the pain that these "others" have caused
them.  But let's deal with this straight on.
     Often.. the reasons that we got hurt may not be the best.  Take as an
example a kid who is very good at school.. and who is almost always right..
even so much that they are often correcting their teachers.  I know that
when I see someone who's seemingly "right" most of the time.. it's tough to
deal with.. why?  Well.. it makes me feel like I'm a nothing.. or "less than
adequate".. as I don't measure up to their abilities.  But God has shown me
that it's more right to stop comparing myself to others.. and to compare
myself only to two people.. Jesus.. and myself.  
     As you know.. we are all in what might be called a "growth continuum".
That is.. we all have strengths.. and we all have weaknesses.  We all can do
a few things better than our neighbor.. and maybe a number of things far
worse.. but.. just because we have many weaknesses doesn't make us a "bad"
person.. does it?  I mean.. not one of us has to measure up to Jesus.. do
we?  Jesus did the one thing none of us could.. He severed the gap between
God and man.. He made a way so that man could fellowship with God once more.
No man could do it.. so Jesus did.  And no other person can begin to measure
up to just what He did.  The phrase I often rememeber regarding this
statement is, "The ground at the foot of the cross is level."  In other
words.. everyone but Jesus is at the same level.  It's just that.. due to
society's definitions of what is "good" and what is "worthwhile".. many
people compare themselves to others in order to see themselves as
worthwhile.  We are taught early on to look at grades.. to focus on them..
and often, we forget that what really makes a person worthwhile is the fact
that God loves them.  Beyond that.. it comes down to a loving heart.  And
how are these kids gonna learn to love if nobody shows them real love?
     Ok.. I'm gonna confess something.  The kid I first started describing
at the beginning.. that's me.  I remember all too well a lot of the pain I
went through.. just because I was good at school.. and almost always right
in class.  Kids hated me.. and I just accepted that as a given.. that I
wouldn't really have any friends.  And that's how things went.. I had at
most one or two friends I could really begin to call "friends".. but even
they didn't tend to go beyond superficial levels.  Why?  Well.. as a child I
never learned to share my heart.. to talk about my feelings.. or what
mattered to me.. all I learned was that my dad seemed to hate me (cuz he was
so physical with me) and that my mom loved me (cuz she accepted me as I
was).  Neither my mom nor my dad really spent time talking with me about
feelings.. or asking me about mine.  I didn't learn to talk about them until
I was 19.. when one girl dared to say she'd stay my friend no matter what I
was like inside.  Of course.. we're no longer friends.. but we were for long
enough to give me hope.. hope that people might like me.
     But as I described above.. I was hated for my abilities.. and I was
never even offered a true hand of friendship.. except in my yearbook in
senior year of high school.  But by then I was so closed off that I couldn't
take a chance that anyone would ever love me.  I had no real hope that I'd
be "loved".. except a small glimmer down beneath everything else.  I cried
out for love.. but I was rather convinced that I wouldn't find it.
     Years have passed since that day.. but in some ways.. very little has
changed.  I still have very few friends.. but now.. I don't try and excel as
much as I used to.. because I hate how I get treated when I do my best.  And
this doesn't just happen in school.  I get whallopped when I excel in
Spiritual things too.. because most people don't want to hear the truth..
especially those in Christian leadership.  They just assume they're right
because their church accepts them.. and they refuse to acknowledge their own
failings.. because to them, they're not actually failings.. but actual true
morality.  This is why I have so many problems being like the rest of you..
cuz you're too calloused.. you're too interested in being 'above' me.. and
in standing on falsity because others around you accept it as true.  I
wonder how many of you really know God.
     But back to these kids in general.  A lot of us are simply ignorant
when it comes to how we may be treating you.  We cannot see too well.. so..
we continue acting how we do.  But a word of warning.. just because we're
not like you doesn't mean we're any less of a person in God's eyes.  It
could be that you aren't as perfect in your perceptions as you might
conceive.  Maybe you need to grow and change just as much as we do.  And
maybe one reason we're not about to become like you is because we see how
much you hurt us.. and can't legitimize hurting others the way you have.
     Think about it.  There are lots of people out there who are different
than you are.. and sometimes.. due to society's mores.. you might get hurt
because you are trying to be like society.  But God calls us to a higher
plane than that.  He wants us to continually examine our hearts.. and see
where we need to be more loving.  Take a look at Paul.  He went from
Christian killer to Christian preacher.  His heart went from hate to love..
all because of meeting Jesus.  Shouldn't we love those around us who hurt us
so that they can meet Jesus too?  
     One final comment.  Yes.. if someone claims to be a brother in Christ..
but is unrepentant with regards to how they have hurt you.. then you should
separate yourself from them.  But that doesn't mean you should throw stones.
We are all human.. and we all need to meet the real Jesus.. unfortunately,
so many of us who consider ourselves on the "in-crowd" don't really know Him
as well as we claim to.  We prefer to exclude others when God wants them
"in" just as much as we are.  Who knows.. maybe those people who are so
different might make a really kewl friend.. if we only reach out to them.
     Life is a story.  We are the characters.  If God included us all in His
story.. shouldn't we be willing to include them in ours?

Think about it.