We are ok with others as long as they believe what we believe, act how we act, live the way we live and do as we do. We don't take the time to truly understand their whys or hows. We listen. We see. But we do not understand with our hearts.
We accept the kindness of others. We welcome their money, their friendship, their love, their generosity, their time. We dwell in their homes, find sanctuary in their presence, allow them to make us feel good. We feel their warmth, benefit from their selflessness, succeed on their backs or launch from the pads they built.
We enjoy their humor (when it aligns with ours), we bask in the light they shine, and feed on the fruits of their labors.
We lean on their shoulders, bend their ears, engage them in our battles, find support in our weakness and encouragements in our strength.
Until...
They run out of stuff to give. They are drained. They are all used up. They decided to focus on themselves for a while or maybe put themselves first, just once.
They say something with which we disagree. They not only say it, they proclaim it, declare it, stand firm on it. They speak in a tone that we would never use. They phrase their words in a way we do not understand. They look at us in a way we perceive as "some kind of way."
They disagree with us politically or religiously. They do not meet our expectations. They err, make a mistake, make a bad decision. They sin a little too much or not enough.
We hold those things we don't like above all other things. We plant those differences in the forefront of our minds so we can dwell on them long enough to turn them into the enemy, the "unlike" us, those people.
We do. To friends, to family, to coworkers, to strangers, to our leaders, to our pastors... We do.
