We're All The Same

I once read about a group of kids who started their own neighborhood club.  They just got together and had a good time goofing off and playing around.  When they started the club, they came up with three rules.  And this is what they were:  [1]  Nobody acts too big.  [2]  Nobody acts too small.  [3]  Everybody acts just right.

It seems to me that those are rules we all would do well to abide by, even as adults.

Let's not act too big.  In other words, don't walk around acting like you're the greatest thing since sliced bread and Coca Cola.  Abstain from acting like you're better or superior to other people.  That's called arrogance.  God doesn't like that, and most people don't enjoy being around that either.

Let's not act too small.  In other words, don't walk around talking negatively about yourself.  Avoid putting yourself down and acting like you're beneath everybody else.  God didn't make you as a piece of trash or second-rate human being.

Let's act just right.  In other words, let's have a healthy perspective of ourselves.  We're not better than other people.  And we're not worse than other people.  We're all somewhere in the middle.  We all have strengths and weakness.  We all have moments of thrilling victory and agonizing defeat.  When we all strip away our bank accounts, jobs, homes, achievements, and images, we're pretty much just alike.

The truth is this:  We all are imperfect.  But we also are all created by God, loved by God, and offered salvation from God.  That means deep down, you and I, along with everyone else, are basically the same.

So don't get too cocky about yourself.  And don't get too down on yourself.  Just realize you're like everyone else on the planet:  A work in progress that is highly valued by God.

I like what my Grandaddy Richardson wrote about himself years ago inside the front cover of a book he gave me.  This is what we wrote:  "Leon Richardson.  An old sinner saved by grace."  He had a healthy understanding of himself.  And that's what it means to act right. 

Remember who God is.  Remember who you are.  And always keep in mind that as we stand at the foot of the cross, we're all on even ground.  Nobody is above us or beneath us. 

Yep, it's true.  We're all the same.  And that'll always be the case.  So act right.