This post is unashamedly Bible based.
468 descendants of the family of Perez all ‘outstanding’ men.
Some families just seem to produce certain character traits which are different from the crowd.
Even within this kind of family group you would be justified in expecting there to be a smattering of those who were not quite up to the standard of the rest. Perhaps not even useless, but just not quite there when it came to fulfilling the demanding criteria.
But the inclusion of one little word rules that thought out completely. The person who recorded the list of names in this chapter of the old testament book of Nehemiah specifically says ‘all.’
Usually in any generation there are those men who just stand out; they are not cut from the same cloth as the rest of their family or peer group. They share the same genetics and schooling, they eat the same food and grow up in the same neighbourhood watching the same TV shows; but they are not the same.
It takes only one opportunity, presented and accepted; one subtle fork in the road which is almost imperceptible to all others looking on and every subsequent step is in a totally different direction. A lot of the latent differences suddenly become starkly obvious against the backdrop of everyone else’s sameness.
The Bible is full of men and women like this, history too has recorded for us the many people who just ‘stood out’ from the mass of humanity. The old Japanese proverb states that
‘it is the nail which sticks out that gets hammered’
And for this very reason most people just want to blend quietly into the sea of civilisation, never rocking any boat for fear of being told to sit down, never raising a voice contrary to any thing or any one.
But these outstanding people are not like this; how far do you need to protrude to stand out? Simply put, not that far!
The men in question in the family of Perez (which means – to break through) were men of valor, they had a skill set that was uniquely suited to the time in which they were living. Occupying a city in the centre of hostile opposition they were trained and able to stand firm against all and any who came at them.
That is a character trait which stands out in every circumstance and in any culture or time in history. In a day when marriage is disposable and disdained to find a man who will fight for his woman and family and do whatever he needs to in order to hold that unit together even if it means that he is secondary for a bit is rare and ‘outstanding.’
To see a woman choose to live counter culture in her household, to be a mother first and spend less to give her children her time is ‘outstanding.’
Clearly, there are always mitigating circumstances, but it doesn’t always mean being a world leader or a revolutionary thinker. Sometimes it just means being that person who fights ten minutes more than everyone else for what they believe in; wading through the red tape to get what you are due, believing what is in you is not for nothing.
We are all drawing breath for a reason, I fully and truly believe that we are not just here to fill skin (just one year ago, no amount of persuasion could make me see that).
Find out what you are alive for today (it may change tomorrow) and go for it!