From the Word - Leaving the Swamp

Emotionally, the last few days have been a tough me. Yesterday, my wife and I moved our daughter down to her dorm in Morgantown, which means, for the first time in about nineteen years, Maggie hasn’t been present with me in a very real and tangible way. And even though this move has affected both Debbie and I, I’m a lot more outwardly emotional than my wife; therefore, the last twenty hours have been particularly stressful. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m really excited about this new phase Maggie has entered and I’m confident that she will do great things at WVU and beyond. Still, I felt a little empty and sad this morning.

But the fact that I’m sad wasn’t just because my daughter is moving forward and my role in her life is changing. You see, I’m also sad as I look at the country that I love and that I’m passing on to her. From where I stand, it seems like we’ve become a crude and insensitive people. I mean, somehow arrogance has become confused with confidence and arguments have taken the place of discussions, calling someone a nasty name is more important that making a reasonable point, and bullies are seen as strong. That’s what American has become. And since I’m old enough to remember the way it was, I can tell you this represents a real change from the past, and it’s one that I absolutely hate. And I’ll tell you, this has hit me on a very personal level. For example, just because I don’t support the reelection of the President, in the last few days, I’ve been called a communist, a baby-killer, a Sodomite, and a few things that I found so crude I feel uncomfortable writing them down. And I was called these names, because I had the audacity either to question or to disagree with a certain statement. And I don’t think this is unusual. As a matter of fact, this just seems to be the kind of country I’m giving to my daughter. Of course, I don’t want to infer that this kind of behavior is limited to one end of the political spectrum. For everyone like me who’s called Un-American, there are sincere folks who want to reelect the President who are called Nazis, stupid and racists. Now that’s sad too. And in my opinion, what makes it even worse is that these names are directed at people the name-callers don’t even know and who believe things they don’t want to understand. For me, all of this is not only sad but radically different from the principles on which this country was founded and which made America great for almost 250 years. And I’ll tell if it’s bad right now, imagine the kind of political discourse we’re going to be having in a couple of months.

But trust me, it doesn’t have to be. I believe this can be a wake-up call for all American Christians who believe that their faith is more than a lot of spiritual-sounding words. You see, by our decisions, we can demonstrate that people don’t have to be crude and nasty when they discussion politics. As a matter of fact, as they did in the past, two individuals can actually disagree without the words “communist” or “Nazi” being used. This is possible. And I believe that we can get there by lifting up two passages from the Bible and applying them to our lives. And I’ll tell you, these principles can be applied whether a person is Christian or not.

First, if want to take the nasty out of our political discussions, I think we can apply these words the Apostle Paul offered to the Colossians: “God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.” [Colossians 3:12-14, CEV] Now, I generally use this passage at weddings, because I definitely believe it applies to building a strong marriage. But I think it can also guide us as we offer our opinions and discuss our differences. You see, I think it’s important to express what we think and believe, but we can do it in a way that’s both informed and courteous. And it may all start by us making the decision to see the other person as an individual whom God loves and has chosen, they just may not know it yet. I’ll tell you, if this is how we see those around us, especially those who might disagree, I believe it may help us communicate our ideas with gentleness and kindness, humility and patience. And if our ideas are rejected with either ridicule or condemnation, it just may make it easier to forgive the other person rather than to descend to his or her level. You see, I think all this comes down to a decision to love even those who hold ideas we don’t like. And what is love? Again according to Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians: “Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.” [1 Corinthians 13:4-7, CEV] I’ll tell you, if every supporter and opponent of the President decided to treat the guy on the other side in a loving way, very few people would be called either un-American or racist. In our discussions, we can be more loving; that’s one thing we can do.

And second, when discussing politics, I think we can follow the example left by Jesus in this story from Matthew.

Jesus left and went to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Suddenly a Canaanite woman from there came out shouting, “Lord and Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is full of demons.” Jesus did not say a word. But the woman kept following along and shouting, so his disciples came up and asked him to send her away. Jesus said, “I was sent only to the people of Israel! They are like a flock of lost sheep.” The woman came closer. Then she knelt down and begged, “Please help me, Lord!” Jesus replied, “It isn’t right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.” “Lord, that’s true,” the woman said, “but even dogs get the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.” Jesus answered, “Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want.” At that moment her daughter was healed. [Matthew 15:21-28, CEV]

Now I believe a lot is going on in this story. But as it relates to what we’re talking about here, I think it’s really important that Jesus listened to this woman who was unquestionably outside the folks with whom he most closely identified. I mean, he was open and listened to what she said. And he was willing to expand his perspective based on what he heard. Now that’s what happened, and just imagine if we decided to listen and even explore the opinions of those who disagree with us. Even though more-often-then-not what they say isn’t going to change our world view, it just might help us understand a perspective different from our own. And you know, we could use that understanding to shape how we present our message. I mean, if we want to persuade a person to rethink their positions, addressing their concerns and speaking in a way in which they might identify is going to be a whole lot more effective then calling them names. Now it may impress the heck out of people who share our beliefs and it even may make us feel strong and in control (if that is, we believe bullies are strong). But it sure won’t win one convert. For example, being called an Un-American, communist, baby-killing, Sodomite has not convinced me to change my vote in November. You see, we can decide to listen, and that’s the second thing we can do.

Now, having written this, I must admit I feel a little better, although I still miss my daughter something awful. As a matter of fact, I feel good enough to apologize to anyone who believes that I’ve acted like a child and called them a bunch of juvenile names or that I attacked their integrity, honesty or patriotism. If I’ve done that, I’m sorry. And I promise to express my opinions in ways that are loving and kind and to listen when I’m confronted with an opposing viewpoint, and I’ll do that regardless of the response I receive. I think that’s called “turning the other cheek.” Now that’s what I intend to do. And you know, if more of us make that same decision, maybe political discussions in American will leave the swamp and be elevated to higher ground.