He says that we don't all want to be part of the SAME "in crowd", but most of us do want to be part of SOME crowd. Most of us have an intrinsic desire to belong. And that, along with most things, can be good or bad.
There is a sense of ultimate belonging that we ARE called to. God is calling us to belong to Him, and to find our place in the ranks of the redeemed. That's very good company to be in, and all of us can find ourselves there one day. My hope is that all of us DO find ourselves in that blessed company eventually.
But the bad side of that desire is when we follow "the world", as Jesus called it. "Don't be surprised when the world hates you," He said. "Friendship with the world is enmity with God," James pointed out. And I think this is a great example of one of Jesus foundational teachings.
Jesus taught us that if we put anything else before the Kingdom of God, we will lose both the Kingdom and the thing we wanted. But if we put the Kingdom first, we will find ourselves in the Kingdom... AND all of these things will be added to us.
That, I think, includes that desire of belonging. When we put His Kingdom first, we find ourselves as God's friends... and we find ourselves surrounded by a "great cloud of witnesses" as well. People like us, with whom we can be the deepest of friends.
God, thank You for wisdom, which shows us that all of these good things will be added to us when we seek You first.
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