One of Us

When you picture God, what do you see? I look at the life of Christ and see how he treated people and what sort of methods he used.  One thing that stands out is how Jesus never judged or condemned anyone. On rare occasion he had strong words but they were reserved for the teachers of the law at that point in history. The teachers of the law were Pharisees and Saducees and they were notorious for holding themselves to a high moral standard which was fine until they began holding others to that standard as well.  Pretentious piety always ends up on the power-hungry end of the stick  wielding judgment,  not mercy.  I've heard that certain personalties are more apt to hold themselves to a "higher" standard (see Keirsey.com) but considering humanities skillful knack at leaning toward arrogance, I think to admit you fall into an INFJ (in the company of Gandhi) category for example, you'd be proving my point.

 What standard is the safest? Micah 6! Thank goodness for Micah 6!  "But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,  what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously— take God seriously." - The Message.   Recording artist, Joan Osborne, caused a stir when she sang "One of Us" written by Eric Bazillian. She dared to sing the question, "What if God was one of us?"  If you are a Christian you can relate.  God did become one of us.  Not only did he become human in order to reveal he is not to be feared, he also encouraged individuality.  That means not looking to others for approval. 

 Romans 12:1,2 says, "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." - The Message.   Next time you wonder what standard you need to be filling - look to Jesus - not Keirsey.  He showed us the way to uncovering our true personality - one of pure freedom and joy. - S.N. Belmonte  2010 

"One of Us" written by Eric Bazillian and recorded by Joan Osborne 1995 on the album Relish