Some blossoms to savor!
I was listening to a song this morning and heard the line sung “I’m not just an ordinary girl.” I immediately thought, “huh, the gospel teaches us that we’re all special, so is there such a thing as an ordinary girl?” Which led me to another question:
Is it only possible for extraordinary people to exist when there are ordinary ones? or can we all be extraordinary?
It’s an excellent question that may not exactly have a straightforward answer at first glance. However, I think the answer can be be found though in an examination of pride. Pride? you ask. What has pride got to do with it? Well, let me tell you. Or better yet, let C.S. Lewis tell you:
“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.” -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity-
So according to our good friend Mr. Lewis, pride is essentially competitive in nature. According to pride, one’s own “status” (remember, in our case we’re thinking of the status “ordinary” or “extraordinary”) is not determined by the inherent value of our souls, our talents, our skills, our service, our actions, or even the inherent value of all our possessions. But rather, according to pride, our “status” is determined by comparison alone. So if we answer our question with pride as our frame of reference, then the answer is clearly No. There can only be extraordinary people when “ordinary” people exist to compare them to.
BUT now that we understand pride’s answer to the question, what is the Lord’s answer to the question?
“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” D&C 18:10 (There is no qualifier here to indicate only some souls are of worth. We are ALL of great worth.)
“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” Luke 15:4
(and many more scriptures that I will not quote right now)
To me, the answer to our question from the Lord’s perspective is clear: Yes! Every person on this planet is a child of God, with a stunningly beautiful divine nature and infinite potential. Every person is of great worth. EVERY person is extraordinary, and special. Comparisons are man-made; God has no use for them. If God makes any comparisons, they are only between who we are now and who we can become (who he wants us to become).
When I have prayed for eyes to see others as God sees them, I have seen indescribable beauty in their souls. I have seen eternity in their hearts (for we truly are eternal beings). I have seen immense power for good! And the people in whom I have seen this most clearly are those who have the most trouble seeing it in themselves. So, if you are one of those people, I tell you emphatically: YOU are special. YOU have indescribable beauty and immense power for good. YOU are extraordinary!
And don’t you forget it. Because it’s true.
More about what you can become; what God wants you to become.