When I was a teacher in Uganda some of my students would call me Mr. Krall. When I explained I wasn’t Mr. Krall they would often say, “But all you white people look alike.” I was amused and flattered. Mr. Krall was so much better looking than I and able to do dozens of things I couldn’t do. I soon observed it was the new students who would make the error. As they got to know us they learned to tell us apart.
It’s like that with so many things. When we only know something superficially we don’t discriminate very well. Someone asked me if I could pick my black lab out of a pack of black labs. Of course I could. I know the shape of her head. I know her height and weight and scars. The more we know about something the easier it is to tell the difference. I, along with most of you, get political emails that paint people with a broad brush. If someone is a liberal then they must be this or that and the same with conservatives. The truth is each person is unique. It is only the ignorant who want to label and compartmentalize others. We do it because then we don’t have to think much. It is an easy way to decide who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Guess what? There are good guys and bad guys spread out over the entire spectrum.
We must never forget Jesus was crucified by the conservatives and the liberals combined. He went after both groups. See Matthew 22 and 23. Thankfully our God is not ignorant about us. He can count our hairs. Each of us is special because there is no one else in the entire universe like the person you see in the mirror. God knows I am not Mr. Krall.
Written by Roger Bothwell on January 4, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org