Bridges and Chasms

My Spirit has been SO BURDENED to see how the citizens of our country treat issues that are headlining the media: race, religion and marriage.  Everyone is so focused on their own agendas that we have forgotten to look at what we have in COMMON - struggles, love, family, friendship, citizenship, fear, illness and more, MUCH more than any singular issue.

As a Christian, I have my beliefs and my beliefs are my truth.  My mind cannot be changed.  Now before you dismiss those words as a media version of who you THINK I am, at least know this:  As I live out my own life under that umbrella, it is BECAUSE of my faith I choose to build  bridges, not create chasms.  It's BECAUSE I AM A FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST, my priority is to look for union and not division, a gateway and not a locked door. 

To be honest, though, I AM angry and scared.  Not because I feel persecution as a straight Christian female Pacific Island immigrant stay-at-home mother of color in a mixed marriage, but because we have allowed the media to take one ASPECT of our identities to create WAR among our citizens. 

Headlines are meant to PROVOKE and propel our eyes from word to word.  They are DESIGNED to incite an emotion, not just provide the facts.  News is now a blurred line between entertainment, story, distraction and agenda.  We have not made the media accountable for editing, thoughtfulness, consequences or responsible journalism.  While we fight among ourselves there are people making money from our dischord! Folks, here's a news flash: There ARE gay people who have Christian friends and different races have worked together for decades now.  The media and the people they spotlight would have you believe it's not possible.  They are chasm creators.

When we look at headlines, on either side of divisive issues, we have to be more responsible than knee-jerk reactions.  First, we have to KNOW who we are, in all our beauty and all our ugly.  When we acknowledge our own dignity and struggles, it's easier to recognize them in someone else. 

Second, we have to be slow to speak.  You don't have to agree with EVERYTHING, who does?...but we do need to be respectful and kind.  It's how civility is fueled. If I am speaking in fear, frustration, resentment or hate, my words have not matured long enough to do any good.  Who will listen?  It is imperative we ask ourselves, "Will my words create opportunity for dialogue or will they further perpetuate stereotypes and misunderstanding?"  LOVE is the greatest commandment for a reason.  It's the thing that moves individuals from the splintered "us and them" to united citizens.

Third, have compassion.  We don’t know what motivates someone to champion a cause or fight so vehemently.   How would I act if I perceived my parent or child being treated with injustice or cruelty? Would I be idle in my speech, my passion?  Again, we don't have to agree or share the same experiences to seek understanding.

Laws are changing. Tolerance is only for a select few. Whole groups of people are being defined by a handful of sociopaths and misfits with 10 minutes of fame. This may be what is going on in the world but as children of God...and that is EVERY person who lives on this planet...we can be more.  God is still God, not any one citizen or group, and He commands us to love and lay down the burdens of unforgiveness.  Judgement is His, especially for evil disguised as a Christian.  As for me, with the task of building bridges in mind, my stones will remain unthrown, I will be mindful of the plank in my own eye and I will love as Jesus loved.