Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Who Do You Think of as "Those People"? - Apples of Gold - July 15, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 15, 2008

“Who Do You Think of as ‘Those People’?”


Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.

“Shirts and skins!”

It was junior high P.E., and that’s how the boys were divided into basketball teams – shirts against the skins.  In other words, one team took off their shirts.

One of my best friends in junior high was Dennis Fisher.  He was a big old boy, one you definitely wanted on your basketball team.  But even more than that, you wanted him to be on the shirts, because if Fisher was on the skins, you were gonna get slimed.

Honestly, sometimes I would just back off and let Fisher have the rebound.  It just wasn’t worth getting slathered in sweat. 

Fisher was the tallest kid in my P.E. class, except when the kids came in from special ed.  That’s when we’d get Harold Murphy. 

Harold Murphy had the body of a man and the mind of a child.  When he went up for a rebound, he was all man.  When Murphy and Fisher crashed the boards together, it was like Godzilla versus King Kong.  You either got out of the way or you got crushed.  (And slimed, if it was a “skins” day.)

If Fisher grabbed a defensive rebound, you could drop back for an outlet pass.  But if Murphy got a defensive rebound, everyone just sat back and watched.  He never passed.  He only had one thing in mind.  He was going coast to coast! 

Off he would go, bouncing the ball as high as his head.  He bounded down the court, and bam!  He would slam the ball off the backboard, and it would go flying back down the court. 

Harold Murphy was my only contact with the special ed kids at school.  If it weren’t for that, I would have had zero contact with anyone like that.

I thought of Harold Murphy when I was at the library last week.  I was quietly browsing when all of a sudden I heard a loud laugh – a “too loud” laugh.  I turned, and a young man was showing me a video.  I couldn’t understand a word he said, but he was pointing to the video, and he was obviously very pleased at his find.  So I politely nodded and smiled and said, “Yeh, that’s a good one.”

Then I went back to browsing, but the young man wasn’t done with me.  He picked up another video, and was just as thrilled at this one.  “Yes,” I said, “That’s a good one, too.”

I did notice that both of the videos were war movies, so I said, “You like war movies?  Soldiers?” 

He nodded and looked excited, but I don’t know if he understood a word I said.  So I went back to browsing.

He picked up another movie, this one looked scary.  “No,” I said, “I don’t think you’ll like that one.  It’s not a war movie.” 

I talked to him like he was three years old, though he was probably about 16.  I didn’t really know what to say to him, so I was polite, and then moved on.

I guess I’m like most people.  I’m unsure how to act towards people who are different than me.

I went to an all white high school, so when I went to college, my comfort zone was stretched when I made friends with some African Americans.  They talked different and acted different.  Sometimes I didn’t understand a word they said.  But after a while I got the hang of it and made some good friends.

In my life I have met a lot of people who are different than me, and it’s usually uncomfortable.  But then I realize they are just people.  I could have been born in their place, and they in mine. 

I’ve talked about physical characteristics, but what about behavior differences?  What about people whose actions have put them in a category other then mine? 

What I’m saying is, is there ever a time when I can point a finger and say, “Those people”?

That’s easy to do – only when you don’t know any of those people.  But when you really get to know people in that category, it changes your perspective. 

Jesus set the example for us by talking to all kinds of people.  He saw people differently, because when He looked each person in the eye, He could honestly say, “This is someone I love.  I love them so much, I will die for them.”

First Timothy 2:6 says Jesus “gave Himself as a ransom for all men…”  Verse four says that our Savior “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

I think Jesus sees us all as the people He died for; one group which includes everyone. 

And that’s how we should see people.  We should see them as Jesus sees them, as people who need a Savior, neighbors who need to be loved.  Can we look each person in the eye and say, “This is someone I love”?

First John 2:6 says, “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”  If we are Christians, we must see people as Jesus sees them.

Let me ask you, is there any group of people that you refer to as “those people”?  Is it someone from a different race?  Is it Mexicans crossing the border?  Is it homosexuals?  Is it Republicans or Democrats?  Conservatives or liberals?  The poor?  The homeless?  Prisoners?  Alcoholics? Maybe it’s charismatics or Catholics or whatever.

I don’t think we should see anyone as “those people.”  Everyone is an individual.  God knit them together in their mother’s womb.  God gave them gifts and abilities.  Jesus loves them and died for them.

And if that’s the way God sees them, then that’s the way we should see them.  There is no room for bigotry.  There is only room for loving our neighbor and sharing the Gospel. 

In Matthew 5:16 Jesus said, “…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  Let me tell you, when you point at a group and segregate them as “those people,” it does not lead them to praising our Father in heaven.

Take a moment and think about this.  Is there anyone you think of as “those people?”

If so, pray about it.  Say, “Lord, help me to see people the way You see them.”  Then watch for Him to bring some of those people into your life, because to me, nothing tears down the walls as fast as actually getting to know some of “those people.”


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.


© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for
Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000

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