This episode explores Jesus’s powerful example of inclusivity and acceptance, and how it contrasts with the divisiveness and exclusion prevalent in today’s world. Host Sylvia Worsham shares a personal anecdote about accepting a gay friend during her college years, and then delves into how Jesus intentionally associated with social outcasts. The discussion emphasizes the need for more understanding, compassion and alignment with Christ’s teachings of love and inclusion. Listeners are challenged to reflect on who they may have excluded and why, and are called to commit to spreading kindness and inclusivity in their daily lives.
Transcript:
Speaker 1:
If you’ve ever struggled with fear, doubt or worry and wondering what your true purpose was all about, then this podcast is for you. In this show, your host, sylvia Worsham, will interview elite experts and ordinary people that have created extraordinary lives. So here’s your host, sylvia Worsham.
Speaker 2:
Hey, lightbringers, it’s Sylvia Worsham. Welcome to Released Out Revealed Purpose. In this episode we’re going to be talking about Jesus’ example as it pertained to including those that had been ostracized from the society in which he lived in in those times and why that example is so important in our world today. And the one question I asked the people that follow me on social media and for those that want to follow me on social media, you can follow me at Coach Sylvia Worsham on Instagram, at Coach Sylvia Worsham on Facebook Business would think of any of us for excluding an individual or a group because they didn’t believe in what we believed in, they didn’t stand for what we stood for. I wonder what he would have to say about that. And I went on to describe why that was so important.
Speaker 2:
Because many years ago and I’m talking about at least 30 years ago I studied abroad, in France for my junior year in college and in those years, as most of you guys know, I was brought up in a Catholic. In the Catholic religion, my father and mother were both Mexican. In that culture specifically, there’s a great deal of people that belong to the Catholic church, that belong to the Catholic Church, and so I grew up going to Catholic elementary school and Catholic high schools and identified a lot with the religion in those years and, being that, people that knew me knew that about me. And when I went and studied abroad, there was a group of six of us from Austin College that studied abroad for the entire year and among the six was one particular girl that was gay and she I knew she’d been gay since we were in freshman year because I had always sensed it about her and I remember seeing something that gave me the indication that she was of a different sexual orientation than me because I’m not heterosexual and I always accepted her and loved her. Of a different sexual orientation than me because I’m not heterosexual and always accepted her and loved her.
Speaker 2:
However, on the other side of that was she didn’t think that I would accept her because I was Catholic, and the reason why I know about this is because one day she invited me to go to lunch and I could tell if something was up right away. I can send things about people. Their energy shifts rather quickly. It’s one of my gifts, spiritual gifts and I could tell she was really struggling, like whatever was in her heart. She was really struggling to tell me and I leaned in and I took her hands and I said, hey, are you trying to tell me you’re gay? Just to kind of put her at ease, because I I it just broke my heart to see her go through so much in her head and her heart. I wanted her to feel okay about it.
Speaker 2:
And the look of like total shock came across her face and she’s like you knew. I’m like yes, I’ve known since we were freshmen. So you know, I had known for two years that she was gay and I still accepted her and loved her. And I said why did you think I wasn’t going to accept you? Because you’re Mexican and Catholic, right, you know, a lot of times we have these preconceived notions of people because of how we grew up and what people said, or the experiences we had with california people, or the experiences we had with mexican people. I don’t know what her experience was. I just know that she in her mind thought I was never going to accept her and she was so nervous and when I was so accepting and I was, I like warmed and I actually winked at her as I said it, like, hey, it’s okay, like I’ve known all this time the reason I’m bringing this up now is because people often forget that Jesus, when he was here on earth, modeled acceptance.
Speaker 2:
People that in those years had been ostracized by the society, by the religious leaders. These were he hung out like. His disciples were thieves, prostitutes, tax collectors, people that, when you look at it from the outside in those years, were not the people that you would think the Messiah would hang out with, christ would hang out with. But that’s who he hung out with and that’s what people forgot about him. And that’s what people forgot about him. You know, I for one would have loved to have been part of his discipleship, to have heard him speak in parables and in acceptance, because right now our world needs acceptance. It is so torn apart. I mean, I’ve had to take breaks from social media because my heart breaks reading, you know these are my feelings.
Speaker 2:
But if you want to like, unfriend me or if you think this way, I will unfriend you and I will block you and this and that, and I’m thinking how is this supposed to lead to understanding and acceptance and collaboration?
Speaker 2:
There’s so much anger, there is so much division in our world today. We need examples like the one that Jesus provided on earth. We need to be more inclusive, we need to align our hearts and our thoughts with his, and I see a lot of people that are Christian. I see a lot of people that are Catholic. I see a lot of people that are Baptist, that are Christian. I see a lot of people that are Catholic. I see a lot of people that are Baptist, that are Mormon, that are all these religions, and they claim to love and know him and his character and then exclude people because it doesn’t fit their dialogue in their head or the way they were raised or what they were taught, because it doesn’t align to what they’re currently thinking.
Speaker 2:
I wonder I mean, these were the three questions I asked on my social media sites was if you want to align your heart and your thoughts to God, how does the concept of excluding people fit in Number one? I want you to reflect on that. The other question is who have you excluded lately? Think about it. Maybe they don’t play the same level pickleball that you do and you exclude them because they they’re not as good as you. Maybe you exclude them because they pertain to a sexual orientation that you don’t necessarily like. Maybe you’ve excluded them because of the way they think or of their opinions, and what is the motivation behind that exclusion?
Speaker 2:
Because here’s the thing, and the reason why I’m bringing this today is our country is about to change dramatically again politically, automatically, again politically. Everyone’s has feelings about it and I get why. Believe me, I can see both sides and I can understand both sides. My center will always be christ, because that’s where I go to, okay, and I hope that you whoever’s listening out there has your center and you’re comfortable in that center, and it stretches your capacity to love and it stretches your growth as a person, whatever it may be. For me, it’s Christ.
Speaker 2:
I want you to just kind of sit back and think how is excluding people moving the needle forward in our world? Is it actually helping humanity out, or is it taking 10 steps back? And every day you get opportunities. God gives us opportunities to stretch ourselves beyond what we are capable of to the person that he originally created us to be, which is loving and kind individuals created us to be, which is loving and kind individuals. So today I want you to just take a step back and just reflect on the three questions I asked on this podcast and let’s make a concerted effort as part of the human race to understand each other, to really hear each other out, listen to understand and, more importantly, accept, and let’s stop having these outrageous expectations of each other, because you know, the other day in my grief share class one of the members there. I love him. He is very logical, very much unlike me.
Speaker 2:
I’m very you know kind of a flip side of things to him, and he quoted something that really resonated with me and I think I already mentioned it in another podcast movie, but it doesn’t hurt to mention it again because we need to hear things repeatedly before it actually starts to sink in. Here’s the quote Expectations are premeditated resentments. Let me say that again Expectations are premeditated resentments, premeditated resentments. Let’s just step back and just remove expectations In our interactions with others today. Let’s make a commitment to be kind and to spread kindness and inclusivity. I’m Sylvia Worsham. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of. Let’s Pay it Forward with Kindness. Have a wonderful week, stay safe, love y’all. Bye now.
Speaker 1:
So that’s it for today’s episode of release doubt reveal purpose. Head on over itunes or wherever you listen and subscribe to the show. One lucky listener every single week who posts a review on itunes will win a chance the grand prize drawing to win a $25,000 private VIP day with Sylvia Worsham herself. Be sure to head on over to release doubt reveal purpose podcast com and pick up a free copy of Sylvia’s gift and join us on the next episode.