Differences

How tolerant are you of someone who doesn't share your likes in colour, clothes or food?

What about someone who doesn't agree with you?

How about a person who puts demands, requests on you or makes suggestions that you simply cannot comprehend?

We like to think of ourselves as tolerant and understanding people with a wide variety of friends. And most of the times, it's true. I mean, I have friends who don't like spicy food, I have friends who don't believe in the Christian God, I have friends who even don't agree with how I do certain things.

But are we really that different from our friends?

I've recently had the privilege of associating with people of completely different economic and social backgrounds. People whom I would probably never have met in ordinary circumstances. But for some reason, our paths crossed. We started conversations.

And that was when I realised, birds of a feather really do flock together.

My friends may be different from me, but essentially, we agree on more things than we disagree on.

These other group of people however, have a completely different outlook to life and a totally different way of understanding things.

In all honesty, I don't see them as friends, more than people I have to associate with.

And they come up with things I would often label "ridiculous", "silly", "strange", "weird" and perhaps even "stupid".

But are they really?

Just because they're different, does it make them any of the above words?

I don't really have the answer to this, besides the fact that I've often pondered it. I mean, I may think they're so wrong in seeing things a certain way, but to them, they're right.

Does it make them right? Or wrong?

I know they frustrate me. But is it simply because I lack patience and understanding? And even Christian love for them?

Because in all honesty, I don't think Jesus would dismiss them as easily as I would and do.

And yet, I remain thankful for the friends that I have. Friends that can agree with me. Friends that share the same outlook as I. Friends that are, in my view, on the right side of sanity.

It takes all kinds to make up this world.