English: A homeless man in Paris Français : Un sans domicile fixe à Paris. Tiếng Việt: Một người đàn ông vô gia cư ở Paris Polski: Bezdomny mężczyzna w Paryżu See below for more translations. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’ve recently started a new job, which has led to me thinking back over the past jobs I’ve started. In comparison this new job is one which I would historically have looked at as one which I’d have liked to have, but which is generally worked by people I dislike…what I mean is that people in my job dress in suits, act busy, travel around the world as if they’re popping to the shop, have lots of meetings in tall buildings, and generally just act as if they’re more important than everyone else.
What I’ve realised is that my pre-judging of people in this job hasn’t changed despite the fact I work with them every day, and they’re all perfectly normal! I find myself disliking the concept of them (us?), which is weird, and completely nonsensical.
What it’s highlighted to me is that I find it very easy to put people into boxes:
- high earners = arrogant
- students = lazy
- shop workers = no ambition
- estate agents = incompetent
Just to clarify, these are examples of what I could think, not necessarily what I do think. But the point still stands; I put a stay-at-home mum in a different box to a homeless person despite the fact that their different circumstances may have no bearing whatsoever on who they are. Am I making sense? I’m very tired.
The real point is this: surely we are all bearers of the image of God, and that should be the ‘box’ into which I put people?
