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For Me, Or Against Me

I realized the other day that I don't recognize a middle ground on this. You're either for me, or against me. We all have disappointments and disagreements with those we love; most of that just rolls off, either with time, or experience. But if I have a doubt about whether someone cares about me--no matter the motivation--it's just over.

I can remember being trained in evangelism when I was young, and we would often talk about not making people into "projects". The trouble was, I think we actually did a lot of what we said we did not want to do.

I definitely work with the notion of "insider/outsider." You can give me advice, criticism, or whatever you like, but you better be an insider. You had better know your place. We all do this, even if we don't talk about it. But I'm getting to the point where I say exactly what I think, even if it sounds "arrogant" or any other words somebody would like to use.

It's funny to say this now, because I got a bit of a reputation of being overly diplomatic. But then, I'm thinking back over 20+ years of adulthood now. Things can change in 20 years, and hopefully they do, for the better.
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