Mistake

 

I made a mistake yesterday.

I asked two political questions.

I wasn’t trying to be divisive.

I was genuinely curious as to the answers to my questions.

But both questions garnered answers that were mean-spirited

And I found friends being questioned and attacked for no good reason,

So I took both posts down.

 

I was reminded of a couple of things, though.

 

There are vastly different definitions of Christian in America today.

There is one version of Christian that holds to holiness, purity, and righteousness.

This version is very serious about morality and usually takes scripture literally.

There is another version of Christian that holds to love, grace, and forgiveness.

This version is very serious about welcoming people to Christ’s table and takes scripture as God’s story that is continuing to unfold.

Both are very committed to their faith and their understanding of God.

And while both believe that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life,”

How they interpret that verse and idea is not the same.

 

We, as an American society, have lost the ability to have conversations about hard things.

We resort to name calling and hurl insults at people we’ve never met

And then we assume that the other person is an idiot.

We are so certain that we are right and that “they” are wrong

That we cannot agree to disagree and to treat people with dignity and respect.

We all have thoughts.

We all have opinions.

There are many things about which there is no absolute right or wrong.

But dignity and respect, treating people as human beings,

Is not negotiable.

Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness is not negotiable.

Or it shouldn’t be.

But we’ve made it so.

 

Sometimes it all feels like too much.

Sometimes I feel defeated.

I did yesterday.

Instead of napping,

I found myself on my knees,

Kneeling beside my bed,

Praying with tears

Because I didn’t have words.

 

Help, was all I knew to say.

Help free us from the fear

That you just might

Love us all.

 

Amen.

Pray, Educate, and Advocate For Spoons?

Have you ever mis-communicated with someone? Maybe you were trying to do too many things at once and couldn't properly focus on the conversation? Or maybe you just genuinely heard something wrong?

Take, for instance, trying to write a research paper while having a conversation about the pictures your best friend just downloaded from her phone. Say that you are researching how to support missionaries in a foreign country while your friend is talking about how she has helped organize her kitchen. You are so focused on your research paper that you don't hear her say, "Do you think the spoons are out of place?" and instead say, "Pray. Educate. And Advocate!" "Pray, educate, and advocate for spoons?" she says. "No?" you say. But...it's certainly what you answer because you aren't paying attention.

Or, say, for instance, someone asks you to buy twelve and a half dozen eggs. You say, "Twelve and a half dozen eggs?!" She says, "Yeh. Twelve and a half dozen eggs." You say, "You're sure. Twelve and a half dozen eggs?" She says, "Yes." So you buy twelve and a half dozen eggs--150 eggs--only to have most of them thrown away because you buy way too many eggs because someone only needs 18 eggs. In her mind, she was telling you to buy 12 eggs + 6 eggs (a half dozen), but in your mind you heard twelve and a half dozen.

Communication is a tricky thing and miscommunication is very easy! So, when communicating, make sure:

1) You focus on the conversation instead of doing too many things at once.

2) You understand the perspective of the person you are talking to. Ask questions when needed.

Jesus was a good listener and communicator. Let us be the same.