DIFFERENTIATING FACTORS

DAY 314 OF 365 IN 2021

Luke  17:12,15-16 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

When Jesus met these men, there was only one classification that fitted all of them “they were lepers”, all ten of them. In that strata, they could all be fitted in the same bracket ‘unclean and requiring to be camped outside the city’. Only verified total healing was the needed to be admitted back to the community. Otherwise, they were identifiable by the same terms.

However, there was a shift in the atmosphere with a turn of events that created an alternative classification system. There was a separation into ‘the samaritan and the other nine’. We might wonder ‘what triggered the separation at this time? Was it because one was a Samaritan and their others were not?

Recently, I worked through a personality assessment with my mentor, and in that meeting, I realised that many will normally revert to a default posture in many situations. That was perhaps the factor that set the samaritan apart from the lot – his default position was one of thanksgiving and it showed.

Regardless then of how similar we appear, circumstances in life and our responses to them will find a way to set us apart. In such moments, our usual position will become evident. So just to ponder on these words “what will your default position be”

#sly