Can you imagine if God made everyone identical?   Would it be good if we all looked alike and were all the same size?  How would we recognize each other if we were all the same?

God made each one of us special.  As the song says, "I'm special to Jesus, there's no one else like me.  I wouldn't trade places with anyone else, I'm special, you see!"

God made you different from anyone else in the whole world and He wanted it to be that way. 

[Have an assortment of balls:   soccer ball, football, basketball, baseball (hard ball), golf ball, tennis ball, bowling ball, bocce ball, bowling ball]

Would it be a problem if all balls were the same and identical to each other?   This would be a huge problem.  Every sport needs a special ball that is designed or made just for that sport.

Take, for example, the golf ball.  It is very hard and has hundreds of little dents in it.  It is designed to go a very long distance when it with a golf club.

But imagine if you had to play basketball with a golf ball!  How well would a golf ball bounce?  It was not designed for bouncing.

Here is a bowling ball.  What is this ball designed to do?  (roll!)  Would you want to hit this ball with a golf club?   If you were a baseball pitcher, would you want to throw this ball?   If you were a basketball player, would you want to bounce this ball? (you might break your toe!) 

Here is a ping pong ball and a bocce ball. What are each of these balls designed to do? Would a ping pond ball roll well on the grass?  Would a bocce ball bounce well on a ping pong table?   Each ball is designed to do certain things.  Each ball is very good at doing what it was made to do but not so good at doing what it was not made to do.

Consider a baseball and a football.  What would happen if you tried to kick a baseball?   What would happen if you tried to hit a football with a baseball bat?

A soccer ball is designed to be kicked.  You are not supposed to touch the soccer ball with your hands or arms, but you can hit it with your head.  Would it be a smart thing to hit a bowling ball or a bocce ball with your head?  

Just as different balls have been made for different purposes, so you and I have been made by God to do different things for Him.

We're not all the same.  Some of you are good at music.  Some can sing very well but some people have trouble singing.  Some are very good at math and science.  Another person might not be good at math but may do very well with English. We also have different interests. Some people like sports, some people like fishing, some people like fixing cars, some people like baking cookies.  Everyone has different things they like to do. 

And we are all built differently.  Some people are tall; some are short.  Some are thin; some are heavy. Some have blond hair, others have red or brown hair.  People have different colored skin because God made them that way.  And God makes no mistakes!   If God made you a boy, was that a mistake?   Should you try to become a girl?   If God made you a girl, was that a mistake?  No, God knows what He is doing and He does all things well.

Just as it is foolish to compare a golf ball to a bowling ball, or compare a football to a baseball, so it is foolish and unfair to compare people to each other.  We should never make fun of others just because they are different than we are.

God has made each one of you special and different because He wants you to be you.  Don't try to be someone else.  Say, "Lord, help me to be the person you made me to be.  Help me to use my talents and abilities to serve you and to help others."

[I'm indebted to the book, Object Lessons For a Year by David J. Claassen (Baker Book House) for some of these ideas. See pages 44-45]

Return to More Object Lessons (Index Page)