Who told you that you were special??

"No other person has ever been born - nor will there ever be one - who is just like you.  Yes, God created you to be different from everyone else, and that's why you are special."  

(from an evangelistic track by Good News Publishers)

"You are special.  You are unique.  There is no one else like you. "

Hold it!  Stop the tape!  

With all due respect to Mr. Rogers (I loved him), let's follow this reasoning to it's logical conclusion.  I am special.  I am unique.  God created me to be different from everyone else. There is no one else like me.  No one else who thinks like I do.  No one else who has had the same experiences as me.  No one else who sees the world like I do.  No one who can really understand me.  No one who can truly relate to me.

I am alone.

On the surface, "you are special" seems like a great message.  Who doesn't want to hear that they are special?  Who doesn't want to believe that they are unique?

I've gone through most of my life with an acute awareness of my uniqueness.  In fact, this has led me to believe that there was no one in my life who truly understood me.   No one.  And I've sort of self-righteously attributed that to the fact that I'm special.  I'm unique.  No one else sees the world like I do.  No one has experienced what I've experienced.  Therefore, how could they possibly understand?  I am a deep ocean.  I am an impenetrable fortress.  No one can fathom the mystery of "me."  

REALLY???  Where in the world did THAT come from?? First of all, it's not as if people are lining up for the chance to explore the depths of me!  I am under no such delusions!  But secondly (and much more importantly) I'm just not as unique as I thought I was.  Which is actually a bit painful to admit -- and humbling. 


I do believe that God created each of us with unique personalities and characteristics.   Trust me.  I've taken the major personality tests -- the MBTI, the MMPI, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, the 16PF (I majored in Psychology).   I've taken the Strengthsfinder, and several spiritual gifts inventories. 

With the Psalmist, I overwhelmingly affirm that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" by our Creator. I know that we come from diverse backgrounds and life experiences, and these all shape who we are today.

But I've lived long enough to encounter hundreds of people.  And I've had the privilege of hearing the stories of dozens and dozens.  The more I hear, the more convinced I am of our similarities, not our differences.  We share so much in common with each other.   Sure, we're "packaged" differently -- introvert or extrovert, ruled by our heads or ruled by our hearts, go with the flow or stick to the schedule.  And life experiences have forever changed us -- in some cases, dramatically. 

Yes, we are all unique.  AND, we are all alike.

I think it's time to stop playing the  "you are special, you are unique" tape over and over again.  At least in my case, I've heard it enough. 

Instead, maybe we should play the "we belong to one another in Christ so we should strive to be of one mind and heart" tape more. 

Because as followers of Jesus Christ, we really do belong to one another.  Which means we have a GREAT DEAL in common.  But are we still special?  We're created in God's Image -- of course we're special!  We're just not alone.