I’ve been wrestling with the importance of acceptance over the past week or so. Culturally I am surrounded by voices telling me that I can be whatever I want, that there are no limitations to who I can become, and that anyone or anything who inhibits my ability to become what I desire is oppressive and abusive to me.

There’s no doubt that we do see individuals and institutions that are oppressive and abusive. This of course is wrong and justice must be done in these arenas so that every person, all of whom are created in the image of God, has the opportunity to have opportunity.

However, in our desire for equality we must be careful not to fall into the trap of exactness

And there is a clear difference.

I am not like you, and you are not like me. There are things that are unique to you that I don’t possess and there are things that are unique to me that you don’t possess. I’m not talking about skills we have learnt but innate attributes that are natural to us. I’m not even talking about gifting here, although I think the same rule applies to those. I mean the stuff that’s before all of that. I mean…. like the fact that I am a 6 foot 2 man, who has a moderately athletic physique (when I allow it to shine though). The fact that I grew up in a country location as an only child in a middle class home which gave me opportunities I might not have had elsewhere.

That’s incredibly different to you if you are a 5 foot 1 woman, who has a different body shape, who grew up in a city centre with 4 other siblings, in a family that meant you had to work from a young age. Neither one of us is any better than the other but because of our upbringing and the innate qualities we possess we will have things that we will naturally do better than each other and limitations that we bring as well.

If we want we can train and try and grow in the other areas. I can try and become more like you in your 5 foot 1 body. I can try and train myself in the skills that you innately possess or I can accept that I am just not as suited to those things and again accept that you are better suited to me in that area. You can also try and do the things that I do. You can stretch yourself, and be more like an only child if you’d like.

But why would we do that?

What about we just accept our differences, our strengths, and our limitations? What about we stop trying to be exactly like each other?

Regardless of our innate make up, skills, gifts, and abilities, we should have equality. We must have equal access to grow and participate in this world that we call home but exactly what that looks like is going to be different. I think that’s ok. In fact I think that’s brilliant. Our differences are what makes us represent Gods image more fully.

I’ve nothing more to add so I’m stopping here. One day I’ll get good at blog conclusions!