Did you ever dream of being really good at something?
I bet many of us have watched the Olympics and wondered if we could make it in one of those sports. Stand on the podium, hear the national anthem while a gold medal was placed around our neck.
But let’s be honest…most of us know it’s not gonna happen. It’s difficult for us to identify with the talent and dedication it takes to achieve extraordinary levels of success.
When the Olympics roll around this summer, the televised presentations will include lots of up-close-and-personal features designed to help us get to know the athletes. Many of these pieces we’ll focus on the trials and struggles faced by the athletes on their journey to success.
It’s not an accident.
Good communicators know it’s hard to identify with people when we don’t feel like we have anything in common. But when we see their struggles, they become human, just like you and me. It’s a basic human principle.
We identify in our struggles, not in our victories.
When Pastor Dick Foth spoke this weekend about this foundational idea, he was connecting Jesus’ struggle on Good Friday to ours.
But I started thinking about the posts I wrote last week, about how easy it is to distance people by denying their individuality. If we pretend they don’t have a name or a face or a voice, it’s easier to ignore their struggle.
Why would we do that?
Because if we see them as individuals their struggles become real to us. And in our struggles, we are connected.
When we connect with people, it’s a lot more difficult to dismiss them as part of some other group that doesn’t matter.
We might choose to turn away, but it’s harder to say we didn’t know.