Words from Dic(tionary)
Affinity: (n) a spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something
I think it has a meter–yes, an “affinity meter.”
When I was younger I was more intolerant. My affinity for others was based on three criteria:
- Do I like them?
- Do they have enough money to contribute to a pizza?
- Will they be fun?
Anyone who didn’t fall into all three categories was pretty well nixed from my holy circle of friends. I felt fully justified. After all, who wants to be around someone you don’t like, has no cash flow and is a buzz kill?
I don’t know when this transition occurred, but one day it crossed my mind that people have bad days, bad seasons, bad histories, bad relationships, bad luck and bad karma. Sometimes we catch ’em during one of these “sunken” places on their journey instead of at the top of the mountain. And if you start throwing all the heavy boxes overboard, you will eventually get rid of some excellent treasure.
So as I’ve aged, I have changed my “affinity meter.”
- Do I like them?
- Do I understand why I don’t like them?
- Can I hang around long enough to find out if it would be possible for me to like them?
As you can see, the need for pizza money is gone.
Affinity is the awareness that because nothing is perfect and nobody has it all, we gradually take many people into our lives–to piece together the whole experience of fellowship.
Words from Dic(tionary) 