Conformity v. Diversity
Oct 15th, 2009 by ljkim
One big difference between Jesus’ “Gospel” and plain ole’ “Religion” is that Religion favors conformity, but Gospel favors diversity… I don’t mean that religious people NEVER like diversity, but the tendency is to prefer people who dress the same, have similar haircuts, beliefs in politics, same cultural values… But the people around Jesus were wildly diverse: zealots and tax collectors, fishermen and scholars. Why is that?
I think it’s because Religion focuses on what one does to get to God, and how people ought to do things for God… But the Gospel is anti-religious in a sense, it says forget about what you do…take a look instead at what God has DONE to get to you.
Religious people love to pick on differences… Have a slightly different hairstyle? Have a slightly different outlook on something? Someone will call you on it – and draw attention to it in a way that you will no longer want to stand out. But Gospel people are wildly accepting, yet unafraid to be different. I remember one pastor telling me, when I was a brand new Christian: “I’m glad we’re not the same. If we were, then one of us would be unnecessary…”
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