Thought for Today
Numbers 14:24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me wholeheartedly,
Daniel 7:3 and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.
1 Corinthians 4:7 For who sees anything different in you?
1 Corinthians 7:7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has a particular gift from God, one having one kind and another a different kind.
Twice this morning, I have already encountered the word ‘nerd.’ In 2 completely different and separate conversations, that word was used to describe someone. It should come as no surprise that the word ‘nerd’ does not appear in the Bible. Just to make sure, I did a web search on the word ‘nerd.’
“A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical, abstract, or relating to niche topics such as science fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Additionally, many so-called nerds are described as being shy, quirky, pedantic, and unattractive . . . The first documented appearance of the word nerd is as the name of a creature in Dr. Seuss's book If I Ran the Zoo (1950), in which the narrator Gerald McGrew claims that he would collect "a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker too" for his imaginary zoo.” (en.wikipedia.org)
My recollection is that in the 1950s and 1960s calling someone a nerd or a geek was not a complement. Those words were pejoratives, most often used somewhat disdainfully. As someone who actually enjoyed algebra, trigonometry and science classes in high school, I am thankful to all of the computer nerds who transformed words like ‘nerd’ and ‘geek’ from pejoratives into complements (?) My literary taste is much more eclectic than being restricted to science fiction or fantasy . . . but, you might find some titles in our bookcases suggesting those genres also.
I have read that if zookeepers put an albino monkey in an enclosure with other monkeys, the others will kill the albino. Most of us learned in junior high school or middle school the problems with being different from everyone else around us. Whether or not we knew the phrase ‘peer pressure,’ if we were different, we certainly quickly learned the result of that phenomenon.
Why do any of God’s creatures, any of God’s children, seem to fear ‘others?’ Do we criticize them, ostracize them and ridicule them out of fear? If not, why do those monkeys kill the one who looks different? Why do we attach labels to those who are different? Notice, the labels we attach to those who are different are not laudatory. They do not indicate admiration, they do not compliment. They are mocking. They are derogatory.
I wonder whether the word Christian was originally coined as complementary or derogatory. “ . . . Acts 11:26 it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called "Christians." Did the Antiochians label those ancestors-in-the-faith in a derogatory or complimentary sense? Today, I take it as a compliment when someone refers to me as a Christian. How would I have felt 2020+ years ago? Would I have run away to hide in fear of Roman or Jewish persecution? Would I have felt like junior high school students labeled as nerds, somehow ashamed of my God-given talents and abilities?
We do not need to label, we do not need to deride or mock. We don’t even need to divide people into groups. We are all God’s children. Some are good in mathematics and science. Some are good in various forms of artistic endeavor. We are all equally children of God, “1 Corinthians 12:4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.
As I type this on my computer using a word processing program, I realize that I need to say ‘thank you’ to the next nerd or geek I encounter. Think for a minute about what our world would be like today without those who are intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills, those who spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical, abstract, or relating to niche topics. And, offer a prayer of thanksgiving for those who were brave enough to follow Jesus, despite trials, tribulations and persecutions.
Stay safe, love your neighbors, trust God,
Pastor Ray