My friends Simon and Luke and I have been reading through "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller when we meet each fortnight - taking it a chapter at a time. Last week, we looked at the chapter on community (which I think is the one that challenges me the most). In it, Miller talks about how he (and I think most of us) function as though we are the star of the show - the central character in life - with other people coming onto our "stage" as we interact with them, saying their lines, then leaving.
I think this is deeply profound, because I know that's how I function most of the time - focussed on my lines, and whether people are adding or detracting to my story. Rarely do I consider what is happening in other people's stories.
It seems to me that if we each aimed to make other people feel like the stars (therefore being made to feel like a star by other people, instead of ourselves), true community would occur. It adds to the importance of listening, too, because in true listening we try to put ourselves in the other person's position - again, making them the star, rather than ourselves. It also to me embodies servanthood, because we aim to take the lowest position (the extra), rather than being the star.
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