“A strange thing happens with most regulated professions.”

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-10) from his book, Spirituality for the Rest of Us: A Down-to-Earth Guide to Knowing God (p. 217). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Maybe you have noticed this or maybe you have felt it or done it.

As Larry says, “Over the years the bar to entry is slowly raised by those who are already in. The excuse is always the same: A desire to keep the unqualified out and to protect the reputation of the profession. The result is a greater sense of exclusivity and often a set of rules and regulations that would keep the people raising the bar from getting in themselves if they had to start over.”

We’re seeing that right now in our desire to regulate people from immigrating to our country from another country. The truth is the only people who have not immigrated to the US are the American Indians. I’ve done some work on finding about my ancestors. I don’t think my family would be here and the truth is neither would yours if they were trying to come here today.

Larry says, “You can see the same thing happen with families who flee the suburbs or city for a more pristine rural setting. They're all for growth and easy building codes when moving in. But once enough of their old neighbors start to follow, it's not long until a slow-growth or no-growth initiative shows up on the ballot. God's people are no different. We've always had a tendency to try raising the bar to entry—after we've gotten in. We're still doing it.”

But Larry then talks about those who God reaches out to. He says, “More often than not, they've been culled from ranks of common folks, people like you and me long ago written off by the spiritually elite as lacking the pedigree, education, dedication, or prerequisites for being known and used by God. But God hasn't seemed to notice or care all that much what they think. He shows up, recruits the humble, broken, and pedestrian, and gives us a path we can follow and a power we can access. He's the ultimate come-as-you-are God.”

Let’s get out of the exclusion and elite business and back to the reaching, accepting and loving business. Let’s love each other as God loves us.

So you aren’t doing that, are you?

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