Common or Committed?
Bailey Smith
Philippians 2:19-23
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, SO soon as I shall see how it will go with me.
David Reesman, in his book The Lonely Crowd, tells of an interview in which he asks a young girl to name her favorite comic strip character. She answers, "Superman!" When Reesman asks her why, she says, "Because, he can fly!" "Would you like to fly?" he asks. And she replies, 'Yes, if everybody else could. Otherwise, it would be conspicuous." Reesman uses the interview to point out the insatiable desire that we all have to be "just like everyone else."
We know the story well. Some think that being uncommonly talented or uncommonly gifted is a great disadvantage that must be corrected, or at least controlled. There was a brilliant student in Warren, Arkansas, who began intentionally to make C's so the average and common students would cease calling him an egghead. There is a girl in Arlington, Texas, who gave up her Christian ideals in dating because the common girls were calling her a "bluenose prude." A preacher wrote an article saying why he quit the ministry. He was disappointed that his life was not like the common, average, usual, run-of-the-mill citizen.
We have drunk so long and hard from the cup of the common that the unusual or the uncommon begins to taste bitter. We shy away, as the young girl in The Lonely Crowd, from being conspicuous or different. But we fail to realize that the common are seldom the committed. Aren't we glad, when we see that child joyfully running through the grass, that Jonas Salk was committed instead of common. Aren't we g ...
Bailey Smith
Philippians 2:19-23
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, SO soon as I shall see how it will go with me.
David Reesman, in his book The Lonely Crowd, tells of an interview in which he asks a young girl to name her favorite comic strip character. She answers, "Superman!" When Reesman asks her why, she says, "Because, he can fly!" "Would you like to fly?" he asks. And she replies, 'Yes, if everybody else could. Otherwise, it would be conspicuous." Reesman uses the interview to point out the insatiable desire that we all have to be "just like everyone else."
We know the story well. Some think that being uncommonly talented or uncommonly gifted is a great disadvantage that must be corrected, or at least controlled. There was a brilliant student in Warren, Arkansas, who began intentionally to make C's so the average and common students would cease calling him an egghead. There is a girl in Arlington, Texas, who gave up her Christian ideals in dating because the common girls were calling her a "bluenose prude." A preacher wrote an article saying why he quit the ministry. He was disappointed that his life was not like the common, average, usual, run-of-the-mill citizen.
We have drunk so long and hard from the cup of the common that the unusual or the uncommon begins to taste bitter. We shy away, as the young girl in The Lonely Crowd, from being conspicuous or different. But we fail to realize that the common are seldom the committed. Aren't we glad, when we see that child joyfully running through the grass, that Jonas Salk was committed instead of common. Aren't we g ...
There are 14015 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
