The Outsiders

I know.  My mind automatically goes to "Pony Boy" and "Soda Pop", but those are not the "Outsiders" that I am referring to here.  It's actually the blood-pumping Needtobreathe song I am referring to.  If you haven't heard it, here: https://youtu.be/Q5DJcbfYoTg    When I figured out what it meant, I finally realized why.  The band's genre is different from other bands.  They know this.  They do not fit into one group and feel as if they are on the outside looking in.  They actually see this as an advantage because they can do their own thing without having to fit the mold of an insider.  Hence the refrain;

And through everything we've learned, we've finally come to terms - We are the Outsiders!"

One of my daughters learned this lesson the hard way.  She wanted to be in the popular group - shocker.  After a couple of years, she learned that the fight to get into the inside group wasn't worth it.  The FOMO that it created in her by not being part of what was going on determined her mood for the day, and her self-worth.  Once she realized that there was a lot more freedom on the outside of the "in" group, and there were some very nice people there (and a lot more to choose from), she was freed.  But then, the even cooler part - she now goes to others who are viewed as being on the outside themselves.  She now doesn't care what people think about who she is eating lunch or talking with.  She is comfortable with outsiders because she, too, has been an outsider.  The Message version of Romans 11:32 says exactly what she learned:

"In one way or another, God makes sure that we all experience what it means to be outside so that He can personally open the door and welcome us back in." 

Often, the only way we can recognize and welcome those who are not inside our bubble is to experience life outside the bubble. In Arloa Sutter's book, The Invisible, she says:

"Christians often build barriers of isolation and exclusion and have very little interaction with those from another racial group or social class... When we put ourselves in situations that are outside our comfort zone, God begins to melt our cold hearts."

This lifestyle is counter-cultural.  It takes risk to go out of the "inside" group, unless we are unwillingly forced there.  I've had several years (probably the majority at this point), of not being in the "in" crowd, after a long run of it growing up.  Some was by choice, and some was not by choice.  It's taken me a while to be comfortable with that and not feel like I'm missing something.  Then, after "comfortable with" came grasping and taking advantage of it.  I am now to the point where I actually enjoy not having to fit into a mold.  I can go where others would deem to be strange and I delight in spending time with those who used to be outside my comfort zone. Soon enough, the comfort zone becomes enlarged, and, like the song says,  "I find a home on the outside".

Just last night, I was out with a friend who I have become quite fond of, and we were discussing how twenty-five or thirty years ago, our paths never would have crossed or we would not have been friends if they had.  He agreed and said, yep - I was a "Greaser" and you would have been a "Soc".  I said - "NO WAY! - I am writing a blog on that right now!!  But that's not what it's about"...  BUT THAT IS WHAT IT'S ABOUT.  I would have missed one of the biggest blessings of a relationship had I stayed in my "Soc" bubble.  It is about the movie.  And the song.  And the Bible verse.  And Arloa's quote.  When we get outside of our "comfort zone", our cold hearts melt, we see more, we become free, and we receive the blessing of life-changing relationships.

"Go figure out what this Scripture means:  I'm after mercy, not religion.  I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders."  Mt 9:13 (MSG)