Tuesday, February 24, 2009

I’m A Generic Hot Dog

As human beings grow and mature, we gradually get a sense of ourselves that is based on the way we compare to other people. Here is the way I see myself in comparison to others.


I have a second class mind. I was pretty good at school work, but I never had the kind of genius that a first class mind has. I’m average looking. To the average woman I am somewhere between a good steak and canned dog food. Depending on the woman, I might get graded as a generic hot dog or perhaps a decent grade of ground beef. I am bigger and stronger than most of the other males, but I am below average in those important athletic attributes of fast reflexes and hand eye coordination. I earn a below average income because I work for a non-profit charity.


As you can see, all of the ways in which I have defined myself are based on comparison with those around me. When we were small, we may have had some big dreams, but for most of us, reality intrudes and we have to accept our limitations. I wasn’t the star of the basketball team (I wasn’t even on the team). I didn’t have the highest GPA in my high school (number 42 out of 720). And I haven’t exactly turned out to be Bill Gates in the financial realm. I am not as big a deal as I once hoped I might be.


On top of all that, when I compare my mind to God’s, I end up being the slow drip of water compared to the infinite Niagara of God’s matchless, beautiful genius. When you come right down to it, I’m not all that much. Except . . .

Except for my capacity to love.

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