People see world as 'them and us'

"Father, mother and me, Sister and auntie say;

All the people like us are WE; And everyone else is THEY."

Wise words written by Rudyard Kipling many years ago. Still true today!

Everyone like us is a WE! We have grown up with a set of standards and values. We have been taught well; we know what we believe, and we believe what we stand for. We are comfortable with our way of living. We believe that we have the best form of government. The "American way" is the only way.

Therefore, "our way" of living must be right, and everyone else has to be wrong.

Everyone else is a THEY! They live in another country. They emigrate to our country; yet, they continue to live like a THEY. They have values and standards different from ours. They have the audacity to state that their way of life is far better than ours. They govern themselves in ways different from us. They do business in ways foreign to us. Their educational systems are not like ours. Their religious beliefs vary greatly from ours.

They feel that THEY are right and that WE are wrong. They feel that THEY are better than WE. They dare to believe that if everyone were like THEM, this world would be a nearly perfect place.

God created US and God created THEM! Jesus Christ died on the cross for both US and THEM! The Holy Spirit touches the hearts of every WE and THEY! The church is open to all, and welcomes into God's family, THEM and US! WE should be more understanding of THEM; and hope that THEY will be just as considerate and understanding of US! Working TOGETHER,we will make this old world a nearly perfect place for all of us to live in.

Dr. Don Kuehle is a retired United Methodist pastor who lives in Jackson.