The Danger of Being Seen as “Common” — and Why God Sends Us to Those Who Can Receive Us

There’s a pattern in Scripture that’s easy to miss, but painfully real:

The people closest to you often struggle the most to recognize the value of what God has placed inside of you.

It’s not that you don’t have a gift. It’s not that you’re not anointed. It’s simply that familiarity blinds people to divine purpose.

“Isn’t That Just...?” — Jesus and the Spirit of Familiarity

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, the crowds were amazed—except in His hometown.

“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother called Mary?” (Matthew 13:55)

In other words: “We know Him.”And because they thought they knew Him, they couldn’t receive Him.

Jesus responded with one of the most sobering statements in Scripture:

“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” (Matthew 13:57)

They didn’t reject Him because He lacked power—they rejected Him because He looked too familiar.

“Can Anything Good Come From…?”

Even Nathaniel, a future disciple, dismissed Jesus at first:

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46)

Sometimes it’s not just who you are—but where you come from—that makes people dismiss what God is doing in you.

This Pattern Runs Throughout the Bible

Person	How People Responded
Joseph	His own brothers hated his dream and tried to kill him (Gen. 37)
David	His brother mocked him at the battlefield (“with whom did you leave those few sheep?”)
Jesus	His hometown dismissed Him as “Mary’s boy”
Paul	The Jews rejected his message, so he turned to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46)
Elijah	Rejected in Israel, sent to a widow in Zarephath — a foreigner (Luke 4:25–26)

The common theme: those closest to them saw them as familiar, not anointed.

Why Does This Happen?

• Familiarity breeds contempt – proximity without revelation.

• People remember who you were more than they recognize who you’re becoming.

• Pride and comparison whisper, “If I grew up with you, there’s no way God could be using you in a greater way.”

• Comfort makes people overlook the extraordinary when it appears in ordinary form.

But Here’s the Good News...

God never allows His gift to go unused.

When some refuse to receive what’s in you…God sends you to those who will.

It happened with Joseph in Egypt. It happened with Jesus among the Gentiles. It happened with Paul.

And it happens with us.

Strangers will often recognize the anointing on your life before the people who knew you in your “common” season.

Final Thought

Don’t be discouraged if people in your circle don’t respond to your calling or support what you’re building.

It does not diminish the value of what God placed in you.

It simply means God is preparing to broaden your reach and send you to a people who will honor and receive it.

Stay faithful. Stay obedient. And remember — your influence will grow, and when it does, the same people who dismissed you will wonder how and when it happened.

In the Kingdom, the unfamiliar often becomes the most fertile ground.

Jenine May

Apostle for a stronger Ecclesia.