Classifications of People

We classify people. It helps our mind to deal with complexity.

For instance, you can divide the world up by nationality, religion, age, sex and the like. Often these types of classifications are not very helpful.

Here is a world classification I used yesterday. There are "glass half full people" and "glass half empty" people. The glass half full person sees the bright side of things. People like Brokerbelle, Princessbelle, and my assistant PollyAnna are all glass half full people. Some of us are slightly more negative and we are the glass half empty people. Some of us like myself are glass half empty people that want to become glass half full people. No true glass half full person wants to ever become a glass half empty person. It is not in their nature to desire such a change.

Another classification are the yes, no, I don't know people. Yes people are positive. That is the first thing out of their mouth. There are no people. That is the first thing out of their mouth. H.D. being a glass half full person is also a no person. So my family and friends wait for the no then wait a bit longer until I can finally work myself into saying yes. Finally, there are the "I don't know people." They are the undecided.

God however is a yes person. Scripture says that his promises are Yes and Amen!

Many, but not all of us, translate this over to the spiritual side of our lives. We say yes to faith and God. Others say no to faith and God. Others still don't know. Sometimes we know and we wrestle with God.

The Bible tells about an individual in Genesis, Jacob, who was tricky. He tricked his father, his brother, his father in law and others. He also got a few tricks played on himself as well. But in his life he encountered God. The Bible relates that at one point the Angel of the Lord came to him and he wrestled with him all night and when morning came simply touched Jacob on the thigh and left him limping for the rest of his life. At that point Jacob's name became Israel.

Many of us wrestle with God. We wrestle about faith and we wrestle about life. We wrestle about our children, our destiny, God's calling and involvement in our life. Our struggles are unseen by those that surround us. Finally we are touched by God, and our wrestling on an issue is through. We find ourselves, weak, marked by God and not able to deal with all the problems that so easily beset our lives. We are marked like God and by God. And like Israel of Old, we lean upon our staff still wondering about our struggles with God but admitting that when the struggle was over we had been outclassed by God but our lives indelibily marked by the struggle.

H.D.