"Them and us . . . "

One of our members at the Adventureland congregation told of how they were talking to one of the other workers this season and mentioned something about Chapel, or small groups or something like that, and the other worker said something like “oh, you’re one of them.”

I don’t know if the comment was offered in a derogatory way, or if it was simply a recognition on their part that this person was a part of the Christian group, but when word got out about it (which didn’t take long) the alarm went out!

We had all become increasingly concerned through the course of the summer about reaching out into our worker/Workamper community. Now the suggestion was out in front of us that there was indeed a social gap that existed between “us and them.”

Until recently, I hadn’t seen myself as that much of a reactionary, but in retrospect it seems that I am frequently taking a counterpoint approach in what I write, as I did for example in the summer of ’07 in my post “you say will worship like it’s a bad thing”, in which I took a look at something from a different angle than that from which it was first viewed. That is what I want to do with this issue of “us and them.”

Now let me first go on record as saying; yes I do think that we should be reaching out to the community of fellow workers beyond our Congregation. And yes, I do believe that we could be doing a better job of this than we are currently doing. But perhaps it shouldn’t be entirely unexpected that this gap exists, and perhaps it isn’t entirely our fault.

Jesus warned us in his farewell address that we should not be surprised if the world hates us because of our relationship to Him:

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” (John 15:18-19, NLT)

Now, I have never felt hated in the greater Adventureland worker community, but I cannot escape the idea that there is a difference in life values, and a difference in where the central focus of my life is, from that of many of my fellow workers. I am not always sure that this difference creates admiration in those who do not share these values with me, hence, “them and us.”

Don’t forget that Paul also told us:

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, NLT)

As we all grow in our relationship with Christ, and as He teaches us to think to think as He thinks, rather than as the world around us thinks, we will indeed grow more distinctively apart from, rather than a part of what the world around us is doing.

Peter also instructed us that we would be out of place in a world that is not our home, if we continue to live as Christians should:

“Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.” (1 Peter 2:11-12, NLT)

Now granted, some of us have a tendency to be a bit obnoxious about it, but if we continue to grow in the Lord, He will grow us out of that too.

In my book, Going Forth in the Name, I discuss the difference between the separateness of God’s people in the Old Testament, and that which we see in God’s people in the New Testament. The truth is that many of us will allow our differentness to morph into something that is beyond what Jesus had in mind for us. We need to engage this world in Jesus’ name, not to withdraw from it. While we must not copy the customs and behaviors of this world, we must be a friend to this world which contains those Christ loves, and for whom He died. At the same time, we must always remember that we will never be a part of it, and in some way there will always be a separation of “them and us”.

Peter also told us:

"But you are not like [the world], for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9, NLT)

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.