Book 1 of Musings Antipathies and Affinities

There is richer fruit to be had, and greater discernment, when one overcomes his natural likes and dislikes of people.

Have you ever met someone for whom you had an instant liking?

Have you ever met someone toward whom you felt a strong feeling of aversion?

I guess most of us, at one time or another, have had this feeling of affinity or antipathy.

I wonder why this is. Does the individual remind us of someone we have known in the past? Is he or she just so different from us that we dislike them?

Schoolteachers or coaches may have this problem. Sometimes a male teacher will feel an aversion toward a boy who is bookish. The boy does not like sports. He would rather go to the library alone and read, or work with his chemistry set.

The strong male teacher may despise this type of boy, wanting him to be rough, tough, good in sports, ready to fight.

Did God make only one kind of boy?

Sometimes a female teacher who is excellent in other ways will resent a gifted child.

On one occasion I know of, a first-grade teacher was holding up a picture of a "camel" and telling the class some of the characteristics of this animal.

A boy in the class spoke up and said: "That is not a camel, it's a dromedary. It has only one hump."

Actually a dromedary is a one-humped domesticated camel.

Whether the teacher knew a dromedary is one kind of camel, I do not know. Many teachers would have resented this boy as a show-off; and perhaps have been threatened by his knowledge.

This particular teacher was specially good with gifted children. She knew this type of child will blurt out when he or she sees something that is not right. He is not showing off nor is he proving his unusual knowledge. He is attempting to bring his environment into correct order.

So our special teacher, instead of rebuking the boy, said: "Tommy, will you please come up and teach us about the difference between a regular camel and a dromedary."

Not all teachers work well with gifted children. Not all teachers work well with mentally handicapped children.

However, as we grow in Christ we discover we are gaining victory over our natural likes and dislikes of people.

I am not speaking now of the discernment of evil. I am referring to our normal adamic tendency to favor or reject people whom we hardly know.

There is rich fruit to be had when we refuse to react in terms of our affinities and antipathies, refusing to exhibit a preference for one type of person and an aversion toward another type of person.

Once we gain this victory we have keener spiritual discernment, because we are not judging according to our emotions. Also, we may discover the individual toward whom we initially felt an aversion, an aversion we were able to surmount through prayer, has qualities we have come to appreciate and enjoy. Likewise, the person we were drawn to initially may turn out to be someone of lesser attractiveness than we had imagined originally.

There are people who are unusually good at selling themselves and their point of view, and others who are not so gifted. We are wise when we pray much before we make a judgment concerning people, because sometimes those less gifted in communicating have more of worth to offer. Have you found this to be true?

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30)

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