It is a healthy development to see growing concern for community and life together in the West. At the same time the hunger for life together can, and does, create some deep problems that are rarely talked about in the right way. My friend Monte Wilson recently captured my concern in a post that I believe is very important for Christians who have experienced deep brokenness and desire to be enfolded into a deeply Christian family or small group/church.

Ultimately everything depends on the quality of the individual, but our fatally short-sighted age thinks only in terms of large numbers and mass organizations…
― C.G. Jung, The Undiscovered Self

Sameness – Where every one looks alike, talks alike, believes the same (what they are told to believe), goes along to get along; is brought about by the belief that the judgment of others is more important and more valuable then his or her own evaluations; lives based on fear and self-distrust. Synonyms – Cookie-cutter, boring, mindless, asleep at the wheel, dishonest, robots

Individuality – The product of a relentless pursuit of truth; the result of the belief that one’s life is a gift to be stewarded before the Gift Giver; a person who holds to his or her own beliefs, values, truth, and vision, and respects the same in others; lives based on love and self-respect. Synonyms – Unique, interesting, engaged, responsible, real

Sameness is mindless imitation

Individuality is a commitment to one’s own path

Sameness is cheap, requires very little effort, and leaves one without a self to respect

Individuality demands a steep price but produces the priceless reward of self-respect

Sameness drives out creativity and leaves only dullness of thought and feeling

Individuality requires the use of the full range of one’s mind and senses for creating the noble, the sublime, and the beautiful

Sameness is encouraged by The Powers That Be because robots are easier to program and control

Individuality threatens Control Freaks and Power Brokers because they won’t be managed according to the blueprints of others

Sameness stands or falls before The Group

Individuals stand or fall before their own beliefs, judgments, and actions

Sameness only listens to parrots and robots: all others are categorized as “ignorant,” “foolish,” or “the enemy.”

Individuals listen for truth, logic, and wisdom.

Sameness goes along to get along, giving up individuality for “the common good”

Individuals unite for a common purpose and then integrate their uniqueness’ for the sake of that purpose.

Sameness only sees and groups people according to classes, races, religious groupings, political factions/ voting blocs

Individuals see … individuals: presently the smallest and most abused minority in our country.

Sameness sees the means of “salvation” as Group Think

Individuals stand on the wisdom of St Paul: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

Author

Monte E. Wilson

Monte Wilson trains individuals, teams, and organizations to develop personal and team effectiveness. His work has taken him around the globe and for 40 years he has trained thousands of international leaders in the fields of communication and persuasion, education, and non-profit organizations. As a Corporate Trainer and Life Coach, he has specialized in working across cultural lines throughout the world to establish and sustain successful businesses, both large and small. ESPN, ABC, United Technologies and Best Buy.

As an authority on leadership development, Monte has worked with men and women across five continents, teaching them how to reinvent themselves, their communities and their organizations.

One of Monte’s greatest passions is Stopping Traffic, International: a charity dedicated to rebuilding the lives of children rescued from sexual slavery and slave labor. Please visit Monte’s mission and support his worthy cause.

Copyright, Monte E Wilson, 2015