Going PlacesSample

The closer you get to other people, the more you learn about them. Sometimes, the things you learn are fun and interesting. Maybe they're from another country. Maybe they speak another language. Maybe they have a cool talent or hobby you didn't know about.

But sometimes, we learn things about our friends that make us a little nervous. All of a sudden, we're not so sure being friends is a good idea. How close should we really get to people who are different from us?

Jesus had twelve disciples and, as far as we know, those disciples were his closest friends while he was on earth. The disciples were all very different from each other. Some were poor. Some were rich. Some had unpopular jobs, and some had unpopular opinions. It's safe to say that the disciples disagreed on a lot of different things. But Jesus still had all these different types of people stick together. In fact, Jesus told his followers not to judge other people for their different views.

So before you start pulling away from a friendship because someone thinks a little differently than you, ask yourself if you're being too judgmental. Take a moment to ask yourself what you could learn from these differences. Instead of being scared by someone's different views, try being curious. You don't have to change your beliefs, but you can listen to, and engage with, someone else's point of view, instead of pretending that these differences actually exist.