Cliques

Now someone said this week that "no one thinks they are in a clique, they just think they are in a group of friends".

So what is a clique? The dictionary says it's "small group of people with a common or shared interest who do not readily allow others to join". But is that really true? Do you know if you have excluded others. If you haven't deliberately set out to exclude others does that make you a clique? What if for safety or sanity you need to be in a clique? What if you have always been on the outside of everything and suddenly you find yourself with something you are preciously in the middle of? Should you get out because others are excluded, or should you hang onto it cause it's helping you to be real? A place where you can actually be the you you usually hide from the world.

Did Jesus and the disciples appear like a clique? I mean only 12 disciples, what if you were pals with one of them before they became a disciple and your pal suddenly has a group of people he does everything with, because it gives him life. Would you be upset that you weren't part of it, or let him go and be where he gains life? Do you feel of less worth because you can see that what they have now means more to them? Does it make you less inclined to have friends at all? Cause if you have friends, maybe you'll be called a clique?