Don't let the world around you
squeeze you into its own mold.
Romans 12: 2 (Phillips version)
Teaching others to be molded.
I have often found that my best teachers are children. Children do not yet know the rules of society, the molds that people are supposed to fit into. Their thoughts and feelings aren't filtered through society's sieve. They do not try to be persuaded to be a certain way. They don't live by the have to's many adults do.
I arrived to my children's program one day a few years ago exhausted and worn. It had already been quite a day, and I was not sure I relished the idea of leading 40 kids though an evening of lessons, snacks, and games. I walked in the door about quarter to 6 for my 6:30 program, and was surprised to hear the door a few minutes later. A six year old walked in 40 minutes early for the evening. I looked around the sanctuary where I was surrounded by balloons and immediately decided to put her to work. "Could you separate these balloons by color for me? I need green balloons here, red here, blue here." She listened intently to my instructions, and then she set to work.
"Michelle," my little friend called. "There is one yellow balloon, so I put it with the orange, so it isn't lonely." I knew there was one yellow balloon, but for my illustration to work I needed it to be separate. I asked her to move it. "Nope." She wasn't angry, just firm. "Yellow will have more fun with friends. Nobody will notice if they are a little different.." I decided not to argue the point and agreed with her assessment and went back to work. I would move the balloon myself a little later. ThenI heard her talking to the balloons.
"Some people will tell you not to play together because you aren't the same, but they are worried about how you look. You probably have a lot the same. I'll bet you like all the same games."
Why is it we want people to fit into our molds? Why do we not want to talk with them or work with them if they don't have the same amount of money, or the same color skin, or even go to the same kind of church? I had arrived to the church that night exhausted because I had been trying to fit into a mold all day, and be the person I thought everyone thought I should be. I realized then that our molds are arbitrary. I challenge you to talk or work with someone you don't normally talk to. You might find you like all the same games.
Prayer: God, help us to be ourselves rather than trying to fit into society's molds.
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