Sylvester Stallone, known for his role as Rocky Balboa, commented in one of his movies that American soldiers are “expendable.” Whether you agree with him or not, the fact is that many soldiers are placed in harm’s way and the same goes for CIA operatives and the like.
If soldiers are expendable, then everything else seems to be disposable. In the United States alone, there is a myriad of disposable products including, hypodermic needles, toilet paper, paper towels, cotton swabs, medical and cleaning gloves, dust masks, diapers, razors, toothbrushes, dental floss, hospital aprons, contact lenses, disposable batteries, cameras, garbage bags, paper cups and plates, drinking straws and many more.
Relationships also seem to be disposable. Marriages end up in divorce at an alarming rate and there is a growing segment of the population that has disposed or abandoned the concept of marriage altogether.
On a personal level, I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have felt like I am a disposable or expendable individual. I know that I’m not the only one that has been betrayed by family, friends, co-workers and co-worshipers.
I have been accepted, or better yet “tolerated,” just as long as I am useful, funny or beneficial in one way or the other. Once my “usefulness” runs out, I am discarded like toilet paper down the drain. The smiles are replaced by icy glares and the greetings turn into awkward silence.
Jesus knows about all this. He was betrayed by Judas; denied by Peter and abandoned or discarded by the rest of his disciples. Paul was also deserted by everyone in Asia (2 Timothy 1:15) and later affirms in 2 Timothy 4:16:
“At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me.”
If you feel like you are “disposable” and discarded by most, I feel your pain. It is not easy to go through life surrounded by enmity or apathy. Very few of us are popular, charismatic or oblivious and immune to the pain.
If you are in this situation, there is nothing you can do to change your circumstances. You can try to be more useful, stronger or friendlier, but it won’t work. Some people will still despise you and attempt to discard you, no matter what you say or do…or don’t do.
There is nothing that you can do. Accept that fact and perhaps you will one day be a better, happier person. There is nothing that you can do to have others accept you, but have no fear because you are already accepted by Christ (Ephesians 1:6) and He will never cast you out (John 6:37), forsake or abandon you (Hebrews 13:5), because He is always with us (Matthew 28:20).
A . G.
