Are We Similar, Or Are We Different?
Each person is unique. A fingerprint, a retinal scan, and DNA analysis yield the identity of one individual with unarguable precision. Yet in most ways we are similar. Bill Gates shares commonalities with the poorest street beggar. Time and age are the only distinctions that separate President Bush from a young high school student body president.
People make a living by dividing society into classes. There are the rich and poor, male and female, black, white, and several gradations in between, the powerful and the weak, the beautiful and plain. Any number of distinguishing characteristics can be used to separate individuals into their constituent groups. As we divide, we are more easily analyzed. We are quantified. We are manipulated. When we are separated we feel alone.
We often use our obvious differences to distance us from the problems of others, and that insulation provides a certain amount of vain comfort.
“The proud Pharisee, (of Luke 18) stood by himself (at the temple) and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.”In God’s eyes the two men stood shoulder to shoulder. As Jesus clearly concluded, though, only the sinner stood in the presence of his Creator that day.
In the only characteristic that really matters we all share a common insoluble bond. We are mortal. Whether our income is delineated by seven figures or four, no matter if we are fat or thin, if we wield great power or none at all, our mortality is certain. The gulf that separates each of us from eternity is so vast that it makes no sense to argue who may be closest or who is farthest away. If the distance to the sun were to represent that gulf, the distance that separates us as individuals is not even a millimeter in comparison. When we finally comprehend this fact, we can begin to find unity with those around us.
The Evil One devotes his time to isolating individuals. Separate and capture is his modus operandi. In this, he shows similar characteristics to voracious predators that first separate their prey from the herd then capture it, and finally, kill and devour the lone individual. When we fall prey to the notion that we are different from those around us and thus cannot associate with them, we are only moments away from possible predation.
In Jesus’ final prayer before commencing His march toward torture and execution, He prayed that His followers would become one in spirit just as He and His Father were one.
A scene in the movie, Gladiator, illustrated that those who fight and moved as one, can snatch victory out of the hands of almost certain defeat. Those who fight alone are easily picked off, one after another, to the delight of the demented crowd.
There is power in the unity of a common bond. When we pull together, we prevail. When we focus on our similarities and not our differences we begin to find the companionship for which every human longs.
God created us because He craved companionship with us. One of His highest hopes is to form a spiritual bond with each of His creations. His dreams for us will begin to be realized when we learn to find ways to love Him back and to find common ground with those with whom we share this planet.