People are People

I've been thinking about this post for a while, but I was worried that some people will be offended. Then I decided, it was worth it. This blog is a way for me to put my thoughts down in writing, and thus get them off my chest. Writing things down has a way of helping me feel more peaceful about things, and it helps me to stop thinking about it all the time. Personally, I don't think there is anything too offensive about what I have been thinking, but you never know. No offense is intended, so hopefully it won't come to that.

Maybe this is something that "grown-ups" already know, but I have only recently come to this realization. People are people no matter where they are. We are fallible, we make mistakes, we have strange personalities, and we need Jesus.

When I was serving active duty in the Air Force, I recognized that many civilians expected much more of me when I was in uniform. (To be fair, the AF also expects a certain standard of conduct when one is in uniform.) But at the end of the day, when the uniform comes off, we are all just regular people. Some service members  don't see it that way, but I will tell you, most of the ones I worked with DO. If we held ourselves to a certain standard while in uniform, half the stuff I witnessed (and participated in) would not have happened. It wouldn't have even been a thought. I am not trying to "reveal" anything about the true military life, I am just trying to say, we're not some special breed of human that somehow is above reproach. We were regular people before the military trained us. And while we are (mostly) highly skilled in our job set, we are still just people.

The same goes for all of those that we hold in a higher esteem. Church staff and evangelists, teachers, politicians (HA!), celebrities (including famous athletes), law enforcement, even our parents are just people.

So why do we expect more of these individuals? Because they're people that we're supposed to be able to look up to, maybe? These are people that we can strive to become when we're little. They hold respectable positions in society, doing respectable things. And our faith in humanity is crushed when we're let down by one of these people.

The recent death due to drug overdose of a beloved actor throws us for a loop. The infidelity of a respected church member can have us accusing the entire Church of being hypocritical. The rape of a service member by another service member has us calling for more protective laws and discipline of the military. We wonder how something like this could happen, not realizing that no matter who you are, there are temptations and struggles. Even with a strong support system, the temptation can be too great to defeat.

The truth is, as long as we're putting our faith in humanity, our trust in society, we're going to be let down. Certainly we should still hold people to a standard, but we need to recognize that people are just people no matter where they are. And people have a tendency toward sin. I know that I have a tendency toward sin. There are things that I have done that I am not proud of, and even ashamed of. I've let myself down!

The good news is that there is another place in which to put our trust, a better place. Maybe I should say person. God is always faithful, always true, always just, always loving. He is the one in which we should always look to in order to restore our joy and our hope. We may not always understand why things happen, and God doesn't always give us an answer right away. But we can trust that He loves us and orchestrates life to work out for the best for those who love Him. God's promises are great, and He is faithful to fulfill them, no matter who has let us down and no matter how many times we let Him down. He alone is to be highly esteemed, and He won't disappoint.

This post is not in any way meant to demean people or make us feel badly about ourselves. It's simply a wordy expression of my experience in learning to put all of my trust in Jesus, and not to fret too much when I or others falter. I love people and there are certainly those whom I respect. I do believe that if you know someone who is in a bad way, God calls us to help in any way that we can. It may hurt, and it may be difficult, but Jesus is our strength. He will fill us all the way up, until we're overflowing with His love. At that point, we are able to love more deeply and more purely, even when it's hard. When we allow Christ to dwell within us, we are better equipped to handle the tragedies that a sinful world must face.