Three Types of People

            It is very possible that you have heard that there are two types of people in the world (i.e., those who like Neil Diamond and those who don’t, those with loaded guns and those who dig, those who like Animaniacs and those who don’t, those who lie and those who lie about not lying, those who finish their sentences and those who…).  This is a very popular way to view the world because it allows us to place the people around us into nice little boxes without very much effort.  It also allows us to view people as one or two dimensional characters on a page (that is, not as real people, but as caricatures of who they really are) which makes it very easy for us.  And, since it is totally based on what we believe is important, we feel good by doing it.

            Now, please, do not get me wrong; I am NOT saying that doing this is a bad thing.  As a matter of fact, we NEED to do this because it is impossible to view everybody as the FIVE-dimensional people that we all are.  And, to prove that it is not wrong to do this, I encourage to you read what Jesus Himself on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-27.  All that I am saying is that there are, in fact, more than two types of people in this world; in reality, there are three types of people.  And, Jesus discusses all three types of people in the Sermon on the Mount.

            The first type of person is the one who hears the words of Jesus and does what He says to do.  In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus likens the person who hears and does what He says to a wise man who will endure through all of the storms of life.  Ultimately, this type of person is the only type of person who will be happy in this life and in the life to come, despite whatever hardships he may face (Matthew 5:1-12; 6:24-34; 7:13-14).

            The next type of person is the one who hears the words of Jesus and simply rejects what He says and does not do what Jesus says.  Instead, that type of person does what he wants to do.  In Matthew 7:26-27, Jesus likens this person to a foolish man who cannot survive, despite how well things seem to be going at a particular moment.  This type of person will suffer and worry about the wrong things (Matthew 6:24-34), he will hate and oppress his fellow man (Matthew 5:21-48), and ultimately, in his rebellion to the King, he will meet his eventual destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).

            The last type of person is possibly the saddest.  He is the one who hears the words of Jesus and does some of them.  The Sermon on the Mount (among other things) is about the hypocrisy of many of the religious leaders, such as the Scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:20; 5:21-6:18).  This is the type of person who, despite his claim of being the first type of person, is more like the second type of person than he would ever believe.  Jesus called people like this “hypocrites” (Matthew 7:5).  Unfortunately, this type of person will meet the Lord in Judgment and will feign (?) surprise and indignation when he hears the truth about his hypocrisy, that it was damnable sin (Matthew 7:21-23).

            While there are three types of people in this world, the only type of person any of us should be is the first type, the one who hears the words of Jesus and faithfully does them with all of our hearts.  So, let us be this type of people and never the rebellious fool or the self-righteous hypocrite.  And, let God bless us in this earnest endeavor.

~Curtis Carwile