These are my people

“In the place where they were named Nobody, they will be named God’s Somebody” (Hosea 1:10, The Message).

I’m thinking this morning of a few concepts:

Heritage – what has been passed to me from my forebears.

Comfort zone – my state of being that results from being encompassed by the familiar.

Preferences – the way that I like things to be because of my heritage and comfort zone.

Biases – when I begin to elevate my preferences to a level of superiority over the preferences of others to the point that I believe they should adopt my preferences.

Prejudices – when I determine that my preferences are so superior that those who refuse to adopt my preferences should be avoided or even shunned.

Note: these are not dictionary definitions, they are my understanding/interpretation of the concepts I’m pondering today.

As I’m pondering, I’m seeing how subtle the shift is from one concept to the next. And in that subtlety, I’ve come to the conclusion that no one is born with the idea that “my” people are better than “yours.”

It slowly develops over time based on the input we receive. If we receive continued input that comes from a place of bias and prejudice presented as undeniable truth, our definition of “my” people becomes narrower and narrower.

Based solely on my heritage and familiarity, “my” people at my current age of 59 would be middle-aged, middle-class white people who have grown up going to church, who think the best music was from the 1970s and 80s, and who tend to be conservative in their theology and politics.

That’s heritage and comfort zone.

But something has developed in me over time that has caused me to expand, rather than narrow, my definition of “my” people.

My people sometimes make me uncomfortable because they challenge me to think and operate outside my comfort zone.

My people challenge me to listen more and talk less.

My people spend more time dreaming of what could be than bemoaning what is.

My people are not interested in dividing people up by labels.

My people are absolutely certain that the list of absolute certainties is a pretty short list.

My people don’t believe that being kind and gracious is the ultimate goal of life, but that it is a really good place to start.

My people do not see those with different preferences—and even biases—as enemies to be conquered.

My people are people who are open and eager to learn something new.

My people are people who are willing to unlearn things that are false and damaging.

My people notice what happens on the margins.

My people believe that amazing is possible.

Oh! I can’t forget about the last one:

My people are people who need to be encouraged and loved before they can meet any of the previous criteria.

If I forget the last one, then I’ll start drawing lines and labeling again. Because the truth of the matter is that every person is God’s Somebody.

If God’s Somebody is my Nobody, then the problem is with me.

You are my people.

Be amazing today, my friend.