We are not.......

Once upon a time when I was young, arrogant and judgemental there was a common theme in my thoughts. If I saw someone who appeared to be suffering the consequences of bad choices (mind you I had no real idea as to what their reality was) my initial thoughts were generally along the lines of "We are not those kind of people." Mmm...sounds somewhat familiar.

"The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector." (Luke 18:11)

I believed that doing the right thing would get the right results. It was a simple math equation. Here is what I learned:

It ain't necessarily so.

I remember the moment I had this epiphany. It was during the dark night of Matt's teen years. He'd made a bad decision and the consequences were harsh. We decided that he could spend the night at the detention center rather than bail him out. I was heartbroken, confused, scared and mad. Visiting hours were starting soon and people were beginning to file in...waiting for their chance to see their loved one. I sat there and thought to myself "I don't belong here with these kind of people." I pulled myself tighter into myself as though that were enough to draw a line of demarcation between "those people" and myself. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and removed the blinders from my eyes. I was at the county jail because my child was behind those bars. Me. I was "that kind of people". I was no different. I had a whole lot more in the way of material blessings than some of those waiting. I had more education. I had more of a support group. But I was there because someone I loved was in jail.

The ground at the foot of the cross is level. I would do well to remember that.