Apples To Pears

We tell people all the time, "Don't compare yourself to anyone else." "Embrace your own uniqueness." "There is only one YOU." Sure we say that stuff, but we really don't mean it. How many times have you gotten caught up in those discussions about your "top 5 rappers of all time"? People magazine does their "Most Beautiful" and "Sexiest" lists every year, and every barbershop has pitted MJ, against LBJ and Black Mamba. We compare people all the time!

We have all experienced being compared to someone else. The last person to have your job, or the last relationship they had, and it particularly hurts when you don't come out on top. I've said it many times, and it is still true, there is no winning in comparison.

I think we understand the analogy, comparing apples to oranges, very well. There is no point in comparing incomparable things. Where we tend to mess up is things that are similar, i.e. apples to pears. We will compare people who are similar all the time, but in doing that, we are just as wrong. Apples and pears are completely different fruit, and to try and make one the other, is a disservice to them both. While most pears have that distinct shape, there are some species that are round, and can only be differentiated after cutting and tasting. So it is very possible to confuse a pear for an apple, but the pear still should never be compared to anything else.

We do this all the time with people. We will make cultural differences, fundamental. This is what I mean ... "You're not black if you don't ..." Apples to pears. "It's un-American to ..." Apples to pears. "How can you call yourself a Christian when ...." Apples to pears.

God doesn't intend for our differences to divide us. Even in mathematics differences and division are two separate operations. Our differences give us variety and interest, instead of a bland mundane existence. So embrace them. Celebrate them. Let apples be apples. Let pears be pears. Let raspberries be raspberries. Let blackberries be blackberries. Appreciate the subtle differences in each of us and enjoy the menagerie of flavors offered.

© 2016 Derek J. Murphy Enterprises, and I AM KINGDOM Publishing, All Rights Reserved.

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