Tag: election

Love Your Neighbor: Part 2–Rights or Responsibilities?

 

Freedom is a word that gets thrown around a lot here in the US.  Especially in an election year.  ESPECIALLY especially in THIS election year.  Vote for (fill in the blank) because OUR FREEDOM IS AT STAKE!!!  Another word that we use interchangeably with this kind of freedom is “rights.”  Our Constitution has a Bill of Rights.  We have the right to do this, or not to do that.  Don’t you dare violate my rights!  But Christians are called to a different, I would even say higher, form of freedom.  While American freedom is preoccupied with individual rights,  Christian freedom is about communal responsibilities.

 

Loving your neighbor calls for the realization that you are part of something bigger, a member of a larger body.  Within the Church, we refer to ourselves as the Body of Christ.  However, any community is also a body, whether it is a household, neighborhood, city, state, or country.

 

No one lives in a vacuum.  What we do affects others, whether we can see it or not.  A HUGE problem in our society is that people have forgotten the basic principle that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  Paul addressed this problem in the church at Corinth in this way:

There’s a slogan often quoted on matters like this: “All things are permitted.” Yes, but not all things are beneficial.  “All things are permitted,” they say.  Yes, but not all things build up and strengthen others in the body.  We should stop looking out for our own interests and instead focus on the people living and breathing around us.  1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (The VOICE)

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Yes, we have rights.  Yes, we have the freedom of speech; therefore, yes, we ought to be able to speak truth, whenever and wherever and amongst whomever we find ourselves.  Technically.  However…

Just because we can doesn’t always mean that we should.

Here is something you might not have considered.  Even if you’re right in what you say, someone hearing it may not have a full understanding of the issue at hand.  If someone questions you out of simple ignorance, you can gently educate them to build them up to where you are.  However, if you argue, shout them down or otherwise dig in your heels to assert your rightness, not only are you failing to get your own point across effectively, you are also making it less likely that the other person will ask other significant questions in the future.

 

Furthermore, they may likely develop an attitude about you as a person, and by extension any group with which you are affiliated, that is closed off and hostile.  Can you see how potentially devastating it can be when Christians behave this way?  Great job Ace, you won an argument that you never should have been in (slow hand clap), and you lost a soul for the Kingdom in the process.  You exercised your Constitutional right to voice your opinion, but you broke God’s commandment to love your neighbor.

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It all comes down to the question of rights.  If you’re only focused on your own, sooner or later, you’re going to be depriving someone else of theirs.  Rights are about exercising your freedom.  However, responsibility is the freedom to lay aside your rights for the greater good, just as Jesus laid aside His divinity to come down here with us.

For example, freedom of speech is great until you say something that isn’t true, and it spreads like COVID on the Internet.  By that point (and it only takes hours in this age of technology), it’s too late for an apology or retraction.  The damage is done and is not likely to be undone.

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For this reason, love dictates that the freedom of speech should be in submission to the responsibility to speak truthfully, and to lift others up instead of tearing them down.  As Paul directed the Ephesians:

 

Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.  Ephesians 4:29 (GNT)

 

This is useful advice in any context, but especially on social media.  Here are some questions every Truthseeker should ask themselves before posting:

 

    • Is what I am saying building up orders according to their needs?
    • Do I even know what those needs are?  (I.e., Did I really listen to what they were saying?)
    • Have I tested my own perceptions and beliefs before questioning theirs?
    • Do I for sure know what I’m talking about, or am I about to spout an opinion based on emotion rather than reasoning?
    • What effect might my words have for those lurking on this post or page that aren’t directly involved in the conversation?
    • What is my motivation for making this post? Am I trying to illuminate Truth or win an argument?
    • If a non-believer reads this post, is it going to make them more curious to see what this God thing is all about, or will it make them say, “See, I told you those people were all ignorant douchebags.”

 

The best practice we can all learn is to do everything we can to widen the gap between stimulus and response.  It’s easy to feel anger.  It’s harder, but more beneficial, to take a breath, think things through, and respond constructively.  It requires wisdom to understand that sometimes the most constructive and loving response is no response at all.

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Overcoming the World: Part 5–As Far as it Depends on You

 

Constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength], contributing to the needs of God’s people, pursuing [the practice of] hospitality. Bless those who persecute you [who cause you harm or hardship]; bless and do not curse [them].  Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others’ joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others’ grief].  Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty [conceited, self-important, exclusive], but associate with humble people [those with a realistic self-view].  Do not overestimate yourself.  Never repay anyone evil for evil.  Take thought for what is right and gracious and proper in the sight of everyone.  If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  (Romans 12:12-18 AMP)

 

(Note: This post was originally published immediately following the 2016 presidential election.)

Well, the election’s finally over, and as expected, it has stirred up more issues than it has settled.

 

As is usually the case, Truthseekers were at a loss throughout this election, since Truth and politics are generally not found in the same place at the same time.  Some of us voted defensively, some of us searched in vain for a viable third party candidate, and some of us just stayed home.  Now that what’s done is done, we’re all asking ourselves the same question.  “What do we do now?”

 

Well, the answer is the same thing we’ve always done.  Seek Truth in the common ground.  But how do you find common ground in a nation so divided?

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I covered a lot of this during the last election in the Us and Them series.  However, since it seems to me that strife and discord have been amped up significantly this time around, I would like to focus on the concept of peace and the part we have to play in it.

 

We are called to hate what is evil and cling to what is good.  In a climate such as this, I would suggest that we focus on the clinging to what is good part.  It’s too easy when emotions are running high to go from hating WHAT is evil to projecting that righteous hatred onto people, which is the line we should never cross.  If the news is raising your blood pressure, watch something else.  If your “friends” on social media are stirring the pot with their ignorance, get off Facebook and go put your face in a book.  Better still, put your face in THE Book.  Remember, all evil things will eventually pass away, and the good will remain.  So why expend our energy on things that won’t last?

 

We aren’t supposed to judge people anyway, but we REALLY need to get past this judging people by whom they voted for.  I think most of us can agree that there were no good choices this year, so why should we judge someone else’s choice?

 

That person you’re angry at because he or she voted differently than you and is venting about it on social media—who was that person to you before the election?  Did you respect him or her then?  So why not now?  No one’s inherent worth is diminished by a single ballot.  Remember that.

 

A Truthseeker’s objective is to end arguments, not start them.  It is not our place to try to inject moral superiority into the discussion.  For this reason, I urge patience above all.  Resist the temptation to “correct” people, even if they are obviously wrong.  When people are angry or upset, the lids of their minds are fastened tightly, and you aren’t going to reach them anyway.  Pray for peace and reason to return to our society, and wait patiently for this to pass, because it will.  Dust can’t settle if you stir it up.

 

Look for ways to be kind to people.  The needy are still needy, so don’t forget them.  Let wherever you are be the “safe space” where discussion of politics doesn’t have to happen.  There are so many other things to talk about.

 

Don’t take the bait when some fool on the internet calls you out, directly or collectively, for how you voted and/or the motivations behind your vote.  Justice is God’s job.  If they have it coming to them, they will receive it in their due time.  This is a good opportunity to practice forgiveness.  After all, our sins are forgiven to the degree that we forgive.

 

I don’t really know that there were any “winners” in this election, but there are many who will lose.  I am not suggesting that the criminal element of our society that would riot and destroy and call it a “protest” should be treated with compassion and understanding, but there are many people who stand to lose something dear to them in the upcoming administration.  Be compassionate while they grieve their loss.

 

Make the most of every opportunity to establish common ground with people, preferably face to face.  Listen to their stories.  See people as individuals and not as members of a group.  Come alongside people in their difficulties.  Focus on solutions rather than problems.  Above all, pray first, and listen carefully for an answer, before presuming to dispense wisdom.  When tensions run high, even the most well meaning of advice can be perceived as an attack.

 

And PLEASE avoid the temptation to seek revenge, whether in word or deed.  That is NEVER our job.  It is natural to feel some sense of satisfaction when the times shift in your direction after they have been against you, but it is not our place to rub anyone’s nose in their own misfortune.  You will never earn someone’s respect by spiking the football.  Just hand it to the official and go back to the sideline.  Justice is God’s job, and part of that is righting wrongs.  It will happen in His timing.  Don’t force the issue.

 

Most importantly, it is up to you to make the first move toward peace.  You will have to use your best judgment with each individual you encounter as to whether that means actively extending an olive branch or remaining silent.  Things are going to be ugly for a while.  They may get out of control for a time as well.  You have a choice to make it better or make it worse.

 

You may not be able to single-handedly fix what’s broken in our nation, but how you treat other people is one thing that you CAN control.  So stand firm, pray hard, and keep hoping for the best.  It WILL get better eventually.

(Next up, Part 6–Internal to Eternal)

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