My Guest Blogger is something crazy!

Hello you lot! It’s been a crazy couple of months that has involved juggling three jobs, dropping one and now working two, protesting, worshipping and following God’s big footsteps!

I’m sorry! It’s been a poor month for blog posts from me this August, but instead of leaving you for a few more weeks of desolation I’m allowing a friend of a friend who became a friend (get my drift?) to fill my sparkly shoes for a post.

Introducing author of somethingcrazy:

  

 over to Alan!

Well, I must begin by saying what an absolute pleasure it is to be here, writing on this blog and for this blogger in particular! This is actually one of the blogs which inspired me to start writing my own (yes, it’s her fault), so to have ended up writing on here is amazing. And regular readers among you will know that the blogger herself is awesome – but take it from those of us who are actually privileged enough to know Claire, she’s even more awesome than you think! Yes, she’s definitely a green skittle…

“Hang on!” I hear you cry, “We remember that post, and purple skittles were the best! You’ve just called her ‘The unintentionally annoying person! Difficult to deal with at times, a real patience builder.’” Now calm down, I’m a guest on here, so I’m hardly going to do that, am I? In fact, I think you’ll find that particular description fits me far better than it does Claire. No, the simple fact of the matter is that I dare to disagree with her about the ordering of her list – green should be at the top and… well, everything else is just somewhere below that.

Thing is, we actually have arguments over this (we live weird lives sometimes). One day she shall see the light and admit my taste-buds are superior, but in the meantime this has got me thinking. And yes, I know, sometimes it’s better to leave my thoughts in my own head rather than subjecting everyone else to them, but I’m going to tell you about them anyway.

Firstly, why do we disagree? Well, because we have our own opinions about things – we are unique, individual people. You might think this is a bit obvious, but I’ve heard people argue that if Christians are like a flock of sheep, then we are merely robots who all do the same things. I can see the theory, because we should all be following and obeying the shepherd, but we are far from robots. We are individual because that’s the way God has created us, with our own personalities.

            “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you          because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full    well.”

            Psalm 139 v13-14

And what makes this incredible is that, when we say God loves us, we don’t just mean He loves all humans because we’re all basically the same – no, the God of the entire universe loves you specifically, because there never has been, isn’t, and never will be another you! This means that His relationship with you, and the salvation which He offers you, is personal. It’s awe-inspiring!

Secondly, is it therefore okay to disagree with one another? If God has made us with our own individual personalities and opinions, then surely it is inevitable? No. If we’re being honest, we all know that arguments and quarrels are damaging to our relationships with one another.

            “Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.”

            Proverbs 17 v14

            “It is to a man’s honour to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.”

            Proverbs 20 v3

            “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they     produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to           everyone, able to teach, not resentful.”

            2 Timothy 2 v23-24

I think it’s fair to say that disagreeing over the best colour of skittle qualifies as a “foolish and stupid argument”, so I’m going to hold my hands up here and say that I’m being daft about it and won’t pursue it any further! Easily done with something so trivial, I know, but let’s try not to breach those dams with regards to other disagreements too.

Finally, how do differing opinions affect our relationships? Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I am far from an expert on this subject, but I do know of a popular opinion which states that “opposites attract”. And I can kind of understand this – I mean, if you fell in love with someone who was essentially the same as you, you’d kind of be falling in love with yourself. And that would just be weird. Plus, spending your life with someone who shares all the same interests as you will mean you don’t change anything you do, whereas someone who is different will introduce you to new and exciting things. But would you really like your exact opposite? Think about it – they wouldn’t just disagree with you on things, but directly oppose you on them. If you want to live out in the country, they will flatly refuse to do so. If you love children then they will actually hate them, not just dislike them. If you are willing to compromise… they won’t be! Yes, I am taking this to the nth degree, but the point is that you need some common ground when it comes to the important stuff, and I think that’s why the Bible says this:

            “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness   have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”

            2 Corinthians 6 v14

Being “yoked together” is perhaps hard to understand these days – think of it as being “joined at the hip” instead. A small disagreement might cause a bit of a wobble, but if you’re heading in different directions when it comes to the really important stuff then things are going to get a bit messy. And believers and non-believers are heading in different directions…

            “’Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to    destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads             to life, and only a few find it.’”

            Matthew 7 v13-14

We’re on different paths, heading to different destinations. If you’re yoked together then firstly it’s just going to be really hard, and secondly you risk being dragged off-course – and that isn’t a risk worth taking!

Crumbs, from colours of skittles to being yoked together, all in one post – I fear I must have done rather a lot of waffling in between to get from one to the other! Sorry, hopefully normal service shall be resumed on here by Claire soon…