Medellín is the most developed city in South America (and actually, one of the most innovative in the world), and because of this, the people who live there take great pride in themselves and the city. Outward appearance and position are very important. Outdoor gyms and parks are everywhere, free for people to use. Implants, cosmetic surgeries, and beauty are advertised (on billboards and on people) everywhere. Juan Pablo, our host, cautioned us that Colombian people are very friendly and hospitable, but if they feel that you are trying to be better than them or outrank them, the interaction will quickly change.
One of my favorite things about this trip is the variety of people I got to talk to and interact with. I interacted with prostitutes, drug addicts, kids, adults, mentally ill, mentally healthy, special needs people, athletes. A lot of the people were fringe people (“someone who doesn’t fit in with mainstream culture”).
Fringe people are my favorite. They are fun, weird, genuine, creative, honest. They bring a fresh flair to the world that other people don’t.
I work with special needs kids and absolutely delight in spending time with them, laughing with them, and learning things they teach me. Colombia was no different as I spent time with special needs adults. We played Velcro ball, painted with watercolors, and tried to have conversations in Spanish.
My buddy Daniel (the son of Juan Pablo and Adriana, the pastors I worked with) is pretty much the best. He has a variety of physical and cognitive challenges, but that didn’t stop him from getting a mischievous twinkle in his eyes when he wanted to get the t-shirt or beach ball I was holding. It didn’t stop him from giggling hard when I was roughhousing with him. It didn’t stop him from linking his arm with mine when we were walking to the park or laying his head on my shoulder when we were in the car.
The more I interacted with fringe people on this trip, the more God brought 1 Corinthians 1:27-31 to mind.
“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (ESV version).
I also like The Message Bible translation of it -
“Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”
This is the Gospel of Jesus. It’s for everyone. Not just the elites. Not just the downtrodden. Everyone. The power does not come from us, it comes from Jesus Christ.
If God sees people that way, then we need to see people that way.
How to practice loving fringe people:
1. Keep your eyes open for them. Don’t allow yourself to go through life ignoring people. Take time to really see people.
2. Go out of your way to interact. If there is a group of people that make you uncomfortable or awkward, go out of your way to get to know them. It destroys so many misconceptions.
3. Ask yourself what you can learn from them. My wise Pappy always says, “You can learn something from everyone.” The more we have an attitude of learning, the more we grow!
Working with special needs kids and fringe people delights me. When I laugh alongside people and play with my kids, I feel the delight God feels with us. It helps me to see myself as a woman God delights in, which in turn helps me see others that way because I’m not letting myself get caught up in insecurities. But to get to this place, I had to get over my fears and preconceived notions and judgments about myself and other people.
“The Lord your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will be quiet in his love.
He will delight in you with singing.”
– Zephaniah 3:17
Look around you – what are seemingly insignificant people, events, or objects that Jesus is trying to use to teach you? How can you practice including people more frequently? Are you boasting in what you are able to do alone or in Jesus’ power?
As Paul writes in one of my life verse passages –
“Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!” – 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (The Message Version)
One of my favorite things about this trip is the variety of people I got to talk to and interact with. I interacted with prostitutes, drug addicts, kids, adults, mentally ill, mentally healthy, special needs people, athletes. A lot of the people were fringe people (“someone who doesn’t fit in with mainstream culture”).
Fringe people are my favorite. They are fun, weird, genuine, creative, honest. They bring a fresh flair to the world that other people don’t.
I work with special needs kids and absolutely delight in spending time with them, laughing with them, and learning things they teach me. Colombia was no different as I spent time with special needs adults. We played Velcro ball, painted with watercolors, and tried to have conversations in Spanish.
My buddy Daniel (the son of Juan Pablo and Adriana, the pastors I worked with) is pretty much the best. He has a variety of physical and cognitive challenges, but that didn’t stop him from getting a mischievous twinkle in his eyes when he wanted to get the t-shirt or beach ball I was holding. It didn’t stop him from giggling hard when I was roughhousing with him. It didn’t stop him from linking his arm with mine when we were walking to the park or laying his head on my shoulder when we were in the car.
The more I interacted with fringe people on this trip, the more God brought 1 Corinthians 1:27-31 to mind.
“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (ESV version).
I also like The Message Bible translation of it -
“Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”
This is the Gospel of Jesus. It’s for everyone. Not just the elites. Not just the downtrodden. Everyone. The power does not come from us, it comes from Jesus Christ.
If God sees people that way, then we need to see people that way.
How to practice loving fringe people:
1. Keep your eyes open for them. Don’t allow yourself to go through life ignoring people. Take time to really see people.
2. Go out of your way to interact. If there is a group of people that make you uncomfortable or awkward, go out of your way to get to know them. It destroys so many misconceptions.
3. Ask yourself what you can learn from them. My wise Pappy always says, “You can learn something from everyone.” The more we have an attitude of learning, the more we grow!
Working with special needs kids and fringe people delights me. When I laugh alongside people and play with my kids, I feel the delight God feels with us. It helps me to see myself as a woman God delights in, which in turn helps me see others that way because I’m not letting myself get caught up in insecurities. But to get to this place, I had to get over my fears and preconceived notions and judgments about myself and other people.
“The Lord your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will be quiet in his love.
He will delight in you with singing.”
– Zephaniah 3:17
Look around you – what are seemingly insignificant people, events, or objects that Jesus is trying to use to teach you? How can you practice including people more frequently? Are you boasting in what you are able to do alone or in Jesus’ power?
As Paul writes in one of my life verse passages –
“Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!” – 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (The Message Version)
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