Being Different But Being Similar

It is common knowledge that everyone has a different set of fingerprints. From what I found there are about seven different styles of fingerprints: arch, tentarch, loop, double loop, packed loop, whorl, and mixed. It still amazes me that God enables this uniqueness to happen. When I design things, I can come up with a certain amount of different designs, but after billions of people are created, it would seem difficult to come up with some design that makes each fingerprint different, but they are. What an amazing God!

Though our fingerprints may be different, many of us have similarities. Hair color, eye color, interest in movies, favorite color, gender, and the list could go on and on. I am reading this awesome book, geared toward business that is focused on the principle that though we may be similar, something needs to differentiate us to cause us to be “attractive”. I am not speaking of physical attraction, but, in this case, spiritual attraction.

What makes you, a consumer, go to Burger King over McDonald’s, or J & B Meat over the other two? They are both serving some type of beef sandwich and a fried potato side. One has a king, the other a clown, and the third has no mascot. Something makes them different to cause one to visit them at different times and at different rates.

The book is titled “Collapse of Distinction”, authored by Scott McKain. I have only experienced the first few pages of the book, but I eat up so much of it. I want to highlight so many lines. Though it is a business book, there is so much application to the church. There are so many churches in town that, to many, we all probably look the same. When a business takes its customers for granted that they will always come in, and never try to improve something to meet their customers demands, they will eventually go under. Their failure to be distinct will cause them to collapse (hence the name of the book). Thus, if we are so similar, then what are we doing to not take the “consumer” for granted and try to attract their “business”? Unfortunately, in most cases, it is nothing.

I don’t know where I will integrate this knowledge, but I will find a way!

Though we may be similar, we must find ways to be different!