Different

Different - Making the most of our differences (Part 1) Genesis 1:26-27, 31 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Different is a part of our WORLD and RELATIONSHIPS. Different is by God’s intentional DESIGN. Different is very GOOD! Sometimes our greatest STRENGTH is also our greatest WEAKNESS, but our differences balance each other out. Different can be very BAD. The area where difference will have the broadest and deepest negative impact is SPIRITUALITY. Another name for the human “spirit” is “HEART”. Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 27:19 As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. Spirituality is the SOURCE of your values, worldview, and the attitudes, words, and behaviors that flow from them. Spirituality defines your PARADIGM for life. Amos 3:3 Can two walk together except they be agreed? (GNV) Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place? (MESSAGE) Division - TWO visions. 2Corinthians 6:14-17 14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18 And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” At best, spiritual division/difference will cultivate a SHALLOWNESS and a battle of INFLUENCE. We value the differences except when they are a difference in VALUES. That's what DIVIDES a team and DEFINES whether hero or bad guy.