Preconceptions, Our Greatest Misconceptions

What a busy week it’s been, haven’t even had time to share my thoughts with you, but after Sundays I tend to be so fired up that the only thing I can think about is writing. Firstly I would like to say count your blessings every week, I am so truly thankful for the blessings I received last week. Quick highlight roll, my blog reached 1000+ views, had a successful week at work, and had a wonderful evening at creative night, although that night ended differently to what I imagined! The shop my dad manages had an armed robbery and my dad was held to gun point, with the robbers constantly shouting “I’m going to shoot you”. Our God was his shield, He gave him peace in the midst of the situation and my dad said he felt at ease. So thankful that God intervened and gave my dad a second chance at life, I could’ve been sitting here right now typing a memorial post about my father but instead this is an opportunity for me to express how short life truly is, be thankful, and celebrate each day, time is a gift be grateful when you live to see another.

Okay let me get down to it, my post today is about preconceptions; making up your mind about something or someone before taking the time to experience things first hand resulting in your own opinions which are influenced by the opinions of others. (Wow that was a mouthful).

I want you to realise that preconceptions are our greatest misconceptions. We don’t know or understand everything but we like to think we do. We look at a situation or at people from the outside (judging a book buy its cover), we stand there tapping our foot and rubbing our chin formulating ideas, and then coming up with our own conclusion.

As humans we tend to like our comfort zone and we become complacent, we become picky about the people who form part of our inner circle and if they don’t really fit in then we become cold or stand offish. We form preconceptions about people because of what others have told us and what we think we know about their history and lifestyle. We think we know why others do the things they do and why they have made the decisions they have made. We chose to believe what we want to believe and like the people we want to like, we want others to fit in the mould we have already carved out for them. But I want to pose this question to you today, who are we to judge one another and think we are any better than the strangers we pass in the street! Who are we to choose who is good enough for us to hang out with, who we want to be seen with and who we want to invest our time in, there is no ranking system the only thing that separates us is difference. Imagine if Jesus were picky, choosing only the perfect, none of us would have a fighting chance. He loves all of us no matter how different we are, no matter how sinful we are, his grace allows for us to be close with him to have a relationship with him even after rejecting him at times, so shouldn't we extend the same grace to others?

Of late I have been accused of being the stalker friend, yes you accusers know who you are, haha but fact is if I ask God to surround me with more friends and he does I am not one to be picky, sitting here and selecting who I want to be friends with, people cross my path for a reason and I want to celebrate that, sorry but a hi and bye friend is just not good enough for me. I want to get to know everyone and ANYONE because I find the differences in people absolutely fascinating. My proposal to you is to get to know someone in spite of who you may think they are. When we dismiss people it may turn out to be a blessing missed.

The same goes with situations, we make up our minds about things instead of experiencing things first hand. We need to trust the fact that things will always turn out for the better. Your greatest endeavours are birthed out of your nevers. As a young successful male singer once said, “Never say Never!” We tell ourselves oh I will never leave my job and travel, I will never go to a happy clappy church, I will never go to a gathering alone, I will never pray in front of people, I will never stand a chance because .... (insert own preconceived idea here). Preconceptions are flat out excuses, excuses formulated by fear, fear of change, fear of uncertainty and fear of failure. Climbing into situations which scare you, and doing the things you would never for a minute think of doing could change the course of your life. We all think we have it figured out, our perfect 5 year plan to achieve success, truth be told you may run into dead ends or detours which may cause you to follow a different route or plan which could result in you ending up at a place far better than your original plans, far greater than the destination you planned for yourself. If you stop and take time to get to know someone and their story, if you care and love others regardless of their choices and who you think they are and see the goodness in them you will give them hope for better days! We are all equally important there is no corporate ladder for life.

Your journey is only at the beginning, take the road less traveled it’s filled with adventure and beauty far greater than the concrete highway you have taken a liking too. YOLO for God (You only live once for God, on earth that is) but if you chose the highway (no pun intended) YOLO could end up being YOUR LOW! Glorify His name in everything that you do, make decisions based on the things that will draw you nearer to Him and surround yourself with people who speak highly of Him. He loves all, encourages all and provides opportunities for all. It’s your choice whether you dive in with full trust or whether you wait at the shore holding everyone’s glasses, flip-flops and hats watching others having fun and experiencing the life you want to have! Go for it, the future is yours!