My M.O.

Say there are two good things.  Like Chicago and Istanbul.  I love both of these cities!  But more people will probably choose to go to Chicago than Istanbul, so automatically, I proclaim my love of Istanbul loud and proud.  It doesn't lessen my love of Chicago.  But you probably won't hear me talk about it much.

What I mean is, I root for the underdog.  Whether the giant is good or bad, I want more people to pay attention to the little guy.

This habit tends to get me in trouble, because people think I am talking in black and white.  Not so!

When I say people should sell all their stuff, I know this is not the only way to please God.  I can even think of two families who use their wealth to serve God.  But!  Most people want to be wealthy.  Not many people are pursuing a life of poverty, and so that is the good side that I am backing.

When I say people should be missionaries overseas, I know this is not the only way to expand God's kingdom.  But it is far more common for people to stay in America than to go to the largely unreached and desperately needy world.  So I talk about overseas missions, because I want to tip the balance a little.

When I say I love other countries more than America, I'm not saying America is bad.  There are some wonderful things about this country!  But most people love America, and a lot of them diss other countries by default (America is the best=everyone else is inferior).  So even though America is lovely in many ways, I will stand behind Greece and Turkey and Senegal and Germany and say that I love them more.

I've always gone for the weird and unique.  Doesn't mean the normal is bad.  I just want more people to be outliers.  Unfortunately, my underdog thinking and my tendency to hyperbolize can get me in trouble.  Hopefully no longer, since I have explained myself!

But probably that is not the case.  Sharing thoughts with the interwebs is pretty much asking for people to disagree with you.  I guess I'm asking for it.