Are We All Special?

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JohnCalm

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I ve been wondering this for some time now, and I cant figure out an adequate answer:

Does God make all of us equal? Obviously there is a variety of gifts and graces, but where is the limit?

The way I see it, some people are just stupid, and not everyone is special. There are people who just are one more of many.

I guess some people just throw their gifts away and never develop them.

If you are just careless, can you blame that on God, who made you that way?

This brings me to the next issue: When you achieve something, how much can you credit yourself and how much should you credit God? If you gave you the gift of an intelligent mind, then I guess there is no credit for you.
If you are not that intelligent but posses a hard working attitude, then you wont credit yourself either because God gifted you with that attitude? 🤷
 
You assume too much- you take the naturalist view that the brain builds “us”, and that it does this to varying degrees of success. It doesn’t. The brain filters “us” down, to varying degrees of simplicity. The soul of someone with mental impairments is just as fit for heavenly knowledge as yours, or mine. Here on Earth we are all mentally impaired, in a way.

With regards to credit: credit God that He made the good path, and you that you chose it. Or forget about “credit”, and enjoy the good path towards eternal joy without worrying about who gets the brownie points.

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
“I plead with you! Never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.”
“If He asks much of you, it is because He knows you can give much.”
  • St Pope John Paul II
 
JohnCalm said:
I ve been wondering this for some time now, and I cant figure out an adequate answer:

Does God make all of us equal? Obviously there is a variety of gifts and graces, but where is the limit?

The way I see it, some people are just stupid, and not everyone is special. There are people who just are one more of many.

I guess some people just throw their gifts away and never develop them.

If you are just careless, can you blame that on God, who made you that way?

This brings me to the next issue: When you achieve something, how much can you credit yourself and how much should you credit God? If you gave you the gift of an intelligent mind, then I guess there is no credit for you.
If you are not that intelligent but posses a hard working attitude, then you wont credit yourself either because God gifted you with that attitude? 🤷
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Apart from God we really can’t achieve anything. I think rather than looking for “credit” we should search our souls for genuine gratitude and for how to express that affect so that others might be inspired to gratitude. If you have a son and give him a loaf of bread and he asks why he should be grateful what do you say? Because I gave it to you? Wouldn’t you first explain the scarcity of Bread or rather of those who give it without demanding something in return.

Prayers for you.
 
It would seem people can’t get the credit for anything, only the blame.:sad_yes:
 
Flagstone said:
It would seem people can’t get the credit for anything, only the blame.:sad_yes:
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God gives people credit … when they enter Heaven, He says, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” 🙂

…
 
Mary recognized the credit God gave her, and was encouraged during her lifetime.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.”

~~ Luke 1:46-49
 
Flagstone said:
Some credit before then would be nice. It would be real encouragement.:whistle:
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We’re supposed to encourage each other. Through love, perseverance, and kindness.
What you give in these ways, you get back over and over. God see to it.
 
Jesus suffered and died to save everyone, but even if it had just been to save a single person–ANY person–He still would have suffered and died for that person on the Cross. That says that all of us are equally special.
 
JohnCalm said:
I ve been wondering this for some time now, and I cant figure out an adequate answer:

Does God make all of us equal? Obviously there is a variety of gifts and graces, but where is the limit?

The way I see it, some people are just stupid, and not everyone is special. There are people who just are one more of many.

I guess some people just throw their gifts away and never develop them.

If you are just careless, can you blame that on God, who made you that way?

This brings me to the next issue: When you achieve something, how much can you credit yourself and how much should you credit God? If you gave you the gift of an intelligent mind, then I guess there is no credit for you.
If you are not that intelligent but posses a hard working attitude, then you wont credit yourself either because God gifted you with that attitude? 🤷
Click to expand...
I think this is a good question. If God gives us different gifts at different amounts, are we really equally special? In my opinion, I think if God gave us each the same gifts at the same amount, then our individuality and uniqueness would be jeopardized. The fact that there is no other human being on this planet that possesses the exact DNA, fingerprint, and other qualities that you possess implies that there was not, is not, and never will be another you. Also, if Jesus really did die for each of us individually, then yes, the answer to the question “are we all special?” is a resounding “yes”.

-Phil
 
I’d say we are equal in our uniqueness. No one is exactly like anyone else so everyone is special in God’s eyes…
 
PMVCatholic said:
I think this is a good question. If God gives us different gifts at different amounts, are we really equally special? In my opinion, I think if God gave us each the same gifts at the same amount, then our individuality and uniqueness would be jeopardized. The fact that there is no other human being on this planet that possesses the exact DNA, fingerprint, and other qualities that you possess implies that there was not, is not, and never will be another you. Also, if Jesus really did die for each of us individually, then yes, the answer to the question “are we all special?” is a resounding “yes”.

-Phil
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That does not prove that we are all special, people that go to hell or heaven are not equally special, saints are not equally special to us.

The fact that God die for each one of us just proves that He loves us all equally, but not that we are all equally special.
 
the_phoenix said:
God gives people credit … when they enter Heaven, He says, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” 🙂

…
Click to expand...
Yea well, but where is the limit? Was it God that gave you perseverance, showed you the way, gave you a strong faith? Or was it all you?

People that are not patient, persevere, calm, etc etc can argue that God just did not gave them the gifts to get to heaven, and that the ones that have them are just lucky.
 
God gives us a part in creation. Some of us take this role more proactively than others. The fact that there is this range just demonstrates that our role is in fact up to us. It is mainly these acts of the will that make us unique. SO those that make fewer unique acts of the will appear to be more similar.
 
JohnCalm said:
I ve been wondering this for some time now, and I cant figure out an adequate answer:

Does God make all of us equal? Obviously there is a variety of gifts and graces, but where is the limit?

The way I see it, some people are just stupid, and not everyone is special. There are people who just are one more of many.

I guess some people just throw their gifts away and never develop them.

If you are just careless, can you blame that on God, who made you that way?

This brings me to the next issue: When you achieve something, how much can you credit yourself and how much should you credit God? If you gave you the gift of an intelligent mind, then I guess there is no credit for you.
If you are not that intelligent but posses a hard working attitude, then you wont credit yourself either because God gifted you with that attitude? 🤷
Click to expand...
We can all feel special about ourselves, whether we* are* special or not. And we can feel inferior, worthless, even if we’re superior in many ways to others. But God doesn’t look at us in that way; He doesn’t judge by the world’s standards; Scripture tells us that He judges by the hearet, whereas man judges by appearances. Anyway, He loves us all, the work of His hands, lavishly, unconditionally. Augustine had this to say: **“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
**
 
JohnCalm said:
That does not prove that we are all special, people that go to hell or heaven are not equally special, saints are not equally special to us.

The fact that God die for each one of us just proves that He loves us all equally, but not that we are all equally special.
Click to expand...
I recall the parable of the lost sheep. The Shepard (Jesus) had one-hundred sheep and one went astray. Jesus said that He would without hesitation leave the ninety-nine on a hill to search for the one who went astray until He finds it. It doesn’t make sense. But, it appears that it makes sense to Jesus.

-Phil
 
So if someone is stupid, irresponsable, inefficient and incompetent should you have compassion about them and not get angry because God made them that way?
 
JohnCalm said:
I ve been wondering this for some time now, and I cant figure out an adequate answer:

Does God make all of us equal? Obviously there is a variety of gifts and graces, but where is the limit?

The way I see it, some people are just stupid, and not everyone is special. There are people who just are one more of many.

I guess some people just throw their gifts away and never develop them.

If you are just careless, can you blame that on God, who made you that way?

This brings me to the next issue: When you achieve something, how much can you credit yourself and how much should you credit God? If you gave you the gift of an intelligent mind, then I guess there is no credit for you.
If you are not that intelligent but posses a hard working attitude, then you wont credit yourself either because God gifted you with that attitude? 🤷
Click to expand...
Yes- we are all special TO OURSELVES. Other people’s merits, or lack thereof, are their own business.

For each of us, we are, if not the center of the universe, pretty important. We are each the centre of our own universes.

The notion of credit only makes sense in a context of payment, etc. ‘Taking credit’ for merits or actions is something which has always seemed totally meaningless to me. Credit with what and with whom? Of what value this ‘credit’ anyway?

Intelligence, personal merits, etc. are all social constructions. They are, actually, totally meaningless. A bunch of caveman would probably regard an ‘egghead’ as a moron, for not being able to catch a bear. Whereas a bunch of ‘eggheads’ would regard a caveman as a moron. To each his own. Everything is relative.

St John of The Cross: “Live as if only you and God exist.”
 
JohnCalm said:
So if someone is stupid, irresponsable, inefficient and incompetent should you have compassion about them and not get angry because God made them that way?
Click to expand...
These are all relative, and outside of the context of any given person’s opinions and values, meaningless…

Stupid= Intuitive/Down-to-earth
Ineffecient= Easy-going
Incompetent= Relaxed and confident

God made us each how we are. Presumably He knew what He is doing.
 
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