Because of the grace allotted to me, I can respectfully tell you not to think of yourselves as being more important than you are; devote your minds to sound judgment since God has assigned to each of us a measure of faith. For in the same way that one body has so many different parts, each with different functions; we, too—the many—are different parts that form one body in the Anointed One. Each one of us is joined with one another, and we become together what we could not be alone. (Romans 12:3-5 VOICE)
Every now and again I catch one of these reality shows in which one member is going to be the one to be declared the "survivor" simply because they either can endure every awful challenge hurled at them, or they are simply so obnoxious to be around they drive everyone away from them by their behavior! I know full well some of this "conflict" and "strategics" against one another is "staged" - it is theatrics at best. Yet, there is something of "reality" in many of these individual's behavior that just makes me think it is certainly no surprise they are not liked by anyone! Their concern for themselves, making a name on worldwide TV for none other than themselves, being the "best of the best" is quite apparent. It comes across in all they do, say, and even in how they posture when interacting with others. The issue is that none of us was made to go it alone - not one of us possesses all we will need to get through this life on our own. At some point, we will need someone else - but it our attitude has been that we are the only ones who count, then where will we be when we finally realize we do?
I like Paul's stance on this - it is out of respect AND with respect he tells us we are not to think of ourselves as being more important than any of us actually are. We are all created from the same cloth - so to declare ourselves superior or "better" than others is really to see ourselves unrealistically. The crux of what we are to understand is the idea of being joined together, so as to become "together" what we could not be alone. Catch that - we become "together" what we could not be as we stand all alone in this world. The thing I have seen is the concept of "movement" - when one moves, others begin to move with them; when the movement begins to slow, others begin to slow down, as well. Why is this? I think we all kind of live with a little bit of this "herd mentality". Don't get me wrong here - I am not saying we evolved from some primitive creature that traveled in packs or herds! I am simply saying there is something of validity in seeing others making progress and believing we can also make that same progress in our own lives. This is why I don't try to lose weight alone! When I have the support of others, I do much better!
Too many times we think it doesn't matter what those around us will do, or how they behave. The truth is ALL movement and ALL behavior affects someone else other than ourselves. If someone in the group is ultra-sensitive to any form of criticism, then ANY criticism given will become a thing they latch onto and become hurt or put-off when voiced. Why? They are affected by the behavior and words of others - even when the other one might do it in love, to help them grow, or to just make the "whole" better than it is right now. As I often see on some of these reality shows, there is usually one in the group who quickly gets their feelings hurt, goes into their patterned behavior of "hiding" emotionally, and then begins to lag behind the group. Their actions speak volumes about how they see themselves, but it also speaks volumes about how we need to pattern our behavior to not so much "meet" theirs, but to counteract it! I don't see others "letting up" when they need to drive forward as a group, but rather they get firm with the one lagging behind, asking them to rejoin the group because they will only "survive" as a group!
In life, the "herd mentality" may challenge us to move forward when we want to lag behind because our feelings are hurt - what we do with that challenge often determines if we will move beyond where we are right now. No one challenges us because they want us to lag behind - they challenge us because they want us to move forward with determination, overcoming the very thing we are struggling with, and then walk away victors in a very positive way! Just sayin!
Every now and again I catch one of these reality shows in which one member is going to be the one to be declared the "survivor" simply because they either can endure every awful challenge hurled at them, or they are simply so obnoxious to be around they drive everyone away from them by their behavior! I know full well some of this "conflict" and "strategics" against one another is "staged" - it is theatrics at best. Yet, there is something of "reality" in many of these individual's behavior that just makes me think it is certainly no surprise they are not liked by anyone! Their concern for themselves, making a name on worldwide TV for none other than themselves, being the "best of the best" is quite apparent. It comes across in all they do, say, and even in how they posture when interacting with others. The issue is that none of us was made to go it alone - not one of us possesses all we will need to get through this life on our own. At some point, we will need someone else - but it our attitude has been that we are the only ones who count, then where will we be when we finally realize we do?
I like Paul's stance on this - it is out of respect AND with respect he tells us we are not to think of ourselves as being more important than any of us actually are. We are all created from the same cloth - so to declare ourselves superior or "better" than others is really to see ourselves unrealistically. The crux of what we are to understand is the idea of being joined together, so as to become "together" what we could not be alone. Catch that - we become "together" what we could not be as we stand all alone in this world. The thing I have seen is the concept of "movement" - when one moves, others begin to move with them; when the movement begins to slow, others begin to slow down, as well. Why is this? I think we all kind of live with a little bit of this "herd mentality". Don't get me wrong here - I am not saying we evolved from some primitive creature that traveled in packs or herds! I am simply saying there is something of validity in seeing others making progress and believing we can also make that same progress in our own lives. This is why I don't try to lose weight alone! When I have the support of others, I do much better!
Too many times we think it doesn't matter what those around us will do, or how they behave. The truth is ALL movement and ALL behavior affects someone else other than ourselves. If someone in the group is ultra-sensitive to any form of criticism, then ANY criticism given will become a thing they latch onto and become hurt or put-off when voiced. Why? They are affected by the behavior and words of others - even when the other one might do it in love, to help them grow, or to just make the "whole" better than it is right now. As I often see on some of these reality shows, there is usually one in the group who quickly gets their feelings hurt, goes into their patterned behavior of "hiding" emotionally, and then begins to lag behind the group. Their actions speak volumes about how they see themselves, but it also speaks volumes about how we need to pattern our behavior to not so much "meet" theirs, but to counteract it! I don't see others "letting up" when they need to drive forward as a group, but rather they get firm with the one lagging behind, asking them to rejoin the group because they will only "survive" as a group!
In life, the "herd mentality" may challenge us to move forward when we want to lag behind because our feelings are hurt - what we do with that challenge often determines if we will move beyond where we are right now. No one challenges us because they want us to lag behind - they challenge us because they want us to move forward with determination, overcoming the very thing we are struggling with, and then walk away victors in a very positive way! Just sayin!
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