There are, of course, many more
than two kinds of people in the world, but it can be fun and sometimes
educational to think of people as if they all fall into one of two groups. So,
bear with me for a bit and let’s think of people as being either a victim or a
change agent. This thought occurred to me the other day as I was thinking about
our newest descendant’s future.
I am thinking mostly in terms of
how people see themselves. Just listening to people talk, a lot of them seem to
see themselves as victims of whatever comes along. They tend to look for the
ways in which they are personally negatively affected by whatever happens. It
is a “Woe is Me” lens through which to view the world. Not to mention how it
affects people around them, it must be a miserable way to live. Though some of them
do seem to enjoy it.
On the other side are those who
see themselves as change agents. I suppose you could further divide the change agents
into subgroups. For example, bullies might see themselves that way, but I like
to think about the change agents who use positive means – those, influenced by
Jesus, who approach the world and all its troubles looking for where they might
make a positive difference. Using gentleness, kindness, forgiveness and
patience as their tools, they approach each situation looking for ways to make
it better. My prayer for little Ginny is that she will be a change agent and
not a victim.
[She is, of course much cuter than this clip art.]
Nice writing David!
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