Odd Man Out

Dear Faithful (and Occasional) Blog Followers,
I have neglected you shamefully over the past few weeks. You would think that with Christmas break, I would have had all this time to devote to writing pearls of wisdom but alas, I chose the path of laziness and decided to actually relax on my break! I know, it was a selfish act but so be it. :)

In an attempt to redeem myself, I will endeavor to scratch out a few thoughtful words on this surprisingly quiet Friday morning. I'll have to write fast though because quietness and Fridays don't generally go together and circumstances can change in a heartbeat.

Let's talk for a minute about being ODD. The definition of odd in Webster's is, "...different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion." Synonyms bring even more colorful descriptions: bizarre, curious, far-out, funny, kinky, outlandish, peculiar, quirky, strange, wacky, weird. I know what you're thinking, "Thanks for the English lesson but what's that got to do with anything?"

If you search on the word "odd" for most Bible translations, you won't find any results but Jesus definitely talked about being "different from the ordinary." "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." John 15:19

So, if you react to situations in a way that is contrary to how the majority of society would react, you could be called odd, bizarre or strange. If you turn the other cheek when treated unfairly, you could be called peculiar, wacky or weird. If you chose love over hatred, you could be called curious, outlandish or quirky. But be of good cheer, you are in good company. I have no idea what the Hebrew word for "odd" is but I'd be willing to bet that more than once, someone described that Jesus character from Nazareth as some odd duck. And I'd be willing to bet that if Jesus overheard these remarks, his response would be, "Thank you."