Something that has kind of befuddled me since I've been back to the States is how unsocial we gringos are. Where did we get the unwritten rule about leaving a few empty chairs between you and a stranger in the movie theater? Why are we so against talking to strangers? Why when my family goes to the beach do we drive three hours to another secluded beach?!
In Chile (and I suspect in many Latino countries as well) people talk to people. If everybody is out in the streets you don't stay inside to avoid the commotion! You go out and join in the fun! Strangers are not dangerous; they're future friends! Being on a beach all by yourself would be weird and boring.
What makes this difference in these two cultures?! I wonder if people in Latino cultures feel as lonely as we gringos. I would guess not. Perhaps we're too proud--thinking we're better than the strangers and they don't deserve our time. Maybe we're too self-focused--only concerned with how others are interfering with our own desires. Maybe we lack self-confidence and people we don't know make us feel self-conscious and uncomfortable.
How did Jesus act? I guess he did some of both. There were times when He ran from the crowds and headed towards the hills. But there were times when He had the crowds stay longer than He would have had to in order to feed them or teach them more. The times when He was getting away, though, He was going to seek the Father, not to please himself. Likewise, the times He stayed with the crowds was because He was doing His Father's will, rather than his following the desires of His flesh.
What it comes down to, just like anything else in life, is that we should be doing the will of the Father in everything we do. Whether we're spending time with friends or strangers or in solitude.
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