Perceptions and Expectations

Growing up in Western Sydney in Australia for me was a very enjoyable, and though I never knew Christ until the age 17, I would almost describe as a blessed time. Though my parents were divorced at age 9 and we had a number of years which were a little uncertain, my upbringing was filled with lots of adventure and excitement. Living for some years on acreage gave me access to horses, motor bikes, cars and other luxuries that many living in the city would not know.

Along with this lifestyle came a certain stigma, that is we were known as "westies" a term to describe those who lived in western Sydney and with this stigma came the typical cliché descriptions. Westies were renown for their Ugg boot, flannelette shirts and dark blue jeans. During school times we wore desert boots to ensure our school uniform had the westie flavour. And though life in the west of Sydney was wonderful we always new that it came with a stigma or expectation from others that we were a certain kind of person with typical cliché expectations that hung over our lives.

Naturally, expectations we might have on people can be completely false and untrue. Rehab, the prostitute who assisted the spies to gain insight and understanding to the city of Jericho is once such person in who we would have certain expectations. And yet despite these worldly concepts and ideas we may have of a prostitute the Lord was able to bring and give access to the people of Israel to the promised land. As a result of her actions, she is one of the few women listed in the genealogy of Christ due to her marrying Salmon the father of Boaz.

Growing up within this environment of cliché I also fought against labelling or giving false perception to certain groups, yet as I grow older and more and more each day reflect upon the life I have lived and embrace change for the future, I know I in turn have certain expectations for certain people groups. As men, we often view our wives not so much in terms of their full potential but limit their potential by focussing on their abilities to fulfil their roles as a wife or a mother. I know I did this with my own wife, valuing more her role in what she can do for me rather than God's own specific and individual plan for her life. Indeed I believe it is my marriage to my wife that has led me down this path seeing it as a wifely duty and role.

In general we can place people groups in certain boxes and expect the outcome to be different. This in it's conception is insane yet we do it over and over again with each generation. As males, we must remove the gender typical ideas we have been raised to know about females and visa versa for as females towards men, and continue to embrace God's plans and individual hopes for every person. This will require that each of us seek not our own will but the will of our heavenly Father. This requires that we are Spirit led and not self seeking in our ways. It's all about God's kingdom coming in our lives and laying down our own.

God Bless