I hate being "pegged." That statement that starts, "Well, knowing you..." raises a teeny red flag with me especially if it comes from someone who doesn't know anything about me and only thinks they do because they know me in one context.
There have been times I have done things just to upset the applecart of someone else's preconceived notion of me. And there have been things about me that have come to light which have made others who think they know me, absolutely shocked. Like the time a few years back that I got one of the 3 highest marks in the country for a leadership screening test. I was "just a clerk." The other clerks around me were (hee hee) shocked (and yes, that pleased me for some reason). Some were angry. Others were jealous. Still others were happy for me and championed my cause. It's funny - I could easily tell which ones were which.
People are multi-faceted.
You know what's annoying? the whole concept of "fitting in"!! Conforming to a set bunch of social rules just because someone - usually an extravert - has deemed that this is the behavior desired and that if you don't like it, you're "weird."
It's like trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole, the peg is forced to fit, and is irreparably damaged. Of course nobody thinks of it that way; "fitting in" is paramount. (My question is always, "WHYYYY?") If everybody was the same as everybody else, we'd be in a sorry state! And how unutterably boring would that be??
The apostle Paul recognized each person's individuality within the church, saying that each person had a part to play, each needed the other - just like members of a physical body need each other. Just because my sense of humour is not like sister so-and-so's, and just because I am more hesitant to socialize, doesn't make me bad or wrong. I am a unique and precious creation and was created this way for a reason. If I become like someone else and sacrifice my own unique talents and gifts, then I've sabotaged my own purpose in the world.
It's not a hard concept to grasp. Square holes are hard to find, but they exist. God created them too; He'll lead me to them.
There have been times I have done things just to upset the applecart of someone else's preconceived notion of me. And there have been things about me that have come to light which have made others who think they know me, absolutely shocked. Like the time a few years back that I got one of the 3 highest marks in the country for a leadership screening test. I was "just a clerk." The other clerks around me were (hee hee) shocked (and yes, that pleased me for some reason). Some were angry. Others were jealous. Still others were happy for me and championed my cause. It's funny - I could easily tell which ones were which.
You know what's annoying? the whole concept of "fitting in"!! Conforming to a set bunch of social rules just because someone - usually an extravert - has deemed that this is the behavior desired and that if you don't like it, you're "weird."
It's like trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole, the peg is forced to fit, and is irreparably damaged. Of course nobody thinks of it that way; "fitting in" is paramount. (My question is always, "WHYYYY?") If everybody was the same as everybody else, we'd be in a sorry state! And how unutterably boring would that be??
The apostle Paul recognized each person's individuality within the church, saying that each person had a part to play, each needed the other - just like members of a physical body need each other. Just because my sense of humour is not like sister so-and-so's, and just because I am more hesitant to socialize, doesn't make me bad or wrong. I am a unique and precious creation and was created this way for a reason. If I become like someone else and sacrifice my own unique talents and gifts, then I've sabotaged my own purpose in the world.
It's not a hard concept to grasp. Square holes are hard to find, but they exist. God created them too; He'll lead me to them.
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