We have a basic human need for acceptance. It can be satisfied in a multitude of ways, but it must be met or the individual will suffer.

We can think of community in any number of ways, but my definition is very simply – the people we interact with routinely.

One example is our local Amish community. They live, work and worship together under a common and shared belief system that voluntarily binds them together for their mutual benefit. Their faith is woven through everything they do. Each member contributes to the whole, even children, and similarly, each member benefits. If one needs home repairs, the community gathers together at an appointed time and makes the necessary repairs – each member helping, from the youngest to the oldest. No effort is too minute to be appreciated or too grande to absorb all the attention over the others.

In our modern Western culture, this principle is no longer as evident as it once was, and it is missed. As humans, we need to feel accepted, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to contribute something to the whole. We each have natural & unique talents and abilities, but in today's society, many of these gifts are not generally appreciated, and yet we know that theoretically, the whole is only as valuable as the sum of its parts. If some of the “parts” are not considered valuable, then the whole will suffer. When we under-appreciate the gifts and abilities of others, we depreciate the value of the whole.

I realize this is a difficult concept, and that I am just slightly idealistic, but as an educator – parent – citizen who frequents “disadvantaged” neighborhoods, it simply breaks my heart to see so many people existing without hope. Hopelessness is a fruit of a breakdown in community.

Who says the bank president is more valuable to the community than the toilet scrubber? Who says attorneys are worth more to the whole than the farmer? Who says men are still a better investment than women? Who says different means one is better than the other? Is the singer less valuable than the painter? Both have a gift to share.

We each have a part to play, gifts to give, talents to share, skills to contribute to the whole to make ours a better place. Whether it is within a community of faith, business, or leisure, at some point, we have to get over ourselves and learn to appreciate one another for who we are – not who we want them to be, or who we think they should be – but who we are! Guess what? Avery baby born isn't a genius ... and that's OK!!! Competition has its place, but it should not cause us to value mathematicians over a skilled auto mechanic. Do you appreciate the gifts you have? How about the gifts of your kids, friends, or neighbors? We need more “atta-girls” and “atta-boys!” More positive life-giving words spoken to dispel the harsh negative ones. More words of acceptance to embrace our children in their world of cliques and judgment. Maybe, just maybe we can actually learn to appreciate our differences, hmmm? Maybe?

Rom 12: 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

~ B