I Am Not Of This World

I don't have many friends over 25 years of age. It's an occupational hazard, I suppose. Generally speaking, it doesn't bother me much...but there are times when I wonder if I'm just weird or if it's because I'm a pastor or because I'm difficult to pigeonhole or what.

But yesterday our family had the chance to hang out with a few other families over a barbeque. We had the common denominator of being the same age with children in the same age range.

I was having an enjoyable time, too. The guys I knew (and the new guys I met) were interesting. We talked about how musical tastes had changed from our youth, we talked about our near-death experiences as kids, we talked about the challenges of having daughters. We took them to a pool to swim and the enjoyable conversation continued. 90% of the afternoon was extremely enjoyable. They really are fun, funny and interesting guys.

And then the conversation turned: They started talking about their frustrations at work. Apparently, business frustrations all pretty much are the same in that everyone is affected by someone else's stupid decisions and they all realize their work as cogs in big machines ultimately means they're replaceable so they all work harder and harder, etc. They got so excited about all of it, too. The conversation was as enthusiastic as it had been all day...even moreso. They laughed and pointed out ironies and all that jazz. They nodded a lot.

I could empathize somewhat. I mean, I have bosses. But I felt very much like an outsider all of a sudden. They talked in codes and business jargon and about very temporary stuff.

Mentally, I packed up and was ready to go...far afield from my fellow man.

I hate it when that happens.



P.S. The funk continues.