4/26/2021 0 Comments April 26th, 2021After a brief time out caused by an unfortunate bat incidence, people emerged from their homes and resolved to treat each other with dignity and grace. The lovely sentiment from the previous sentence was what many of us hoped for after the COVID-19 shut downs, but what happened was not so cheery. Though many people took to social media and promised to love their neighbors the next time they got to see them, those promises were empty. The prolonged isolation of the shutdown ignited a fire in the smouldering embers of hate and mistrust that had been silently stoked by years of misunderstandings and disillusionment. The rise of conflict and disorder has caused many to rattle their sabers in support or opposition to the neighbor that they once swore to embrace. Some are so blinded by their fanaticism that they can’t even carry on a conversation without hate and malice taking over. Who is right? Who is “Woke”? And who is just plain weary? In his classic novel, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis explained why this livid determination to be right is so harmful. “All extremes are to be encouraged...Any small coterie, bound together by some interest which other men dislike or ignore, tends to develop inside itself a hothouse of mutual admiration, and towards the outer world, a great deal of pride and hatred which is entertained without shame because the ‘Cause’ is its sponsor and thought to be impersonal.” (page 32) Eighty years ago the same divisions among humanity were taking place and everyone was deluded into believing that they were right and the other was wrong. The passion that fuels one side is the same as the passion that fuels the other. It’s two sides of the same coin called sin. The unpopular opinion that I am proposing when it comes to conflict resolution is simple, and yet astonishingly hard: try to understand the person before you try to convince them you are right and then ask God for direction Perspective taking is defined as “Actively considering other people’s points of view happens when you try your best to suspend judgement and understand that person’s thoughts, motives, and emotions; as well as why they think and feel the way they do” in a blog post on Psychology Compass. Actively seeking a newer, fresher perspective might enlighten those who are so entrenched in stagnant thought processes. As hard as the first part of the proposal might seem, the second is far more foriegn to some. The thought that there is a divine higher power reigning from a cloud seems ludicrous to some, and it should. God is not some far off being peering at us from a lofty perch in the ether. He is real and active and involved. He is not being cruelly slow in meting out justice, he is excruciatingly patient so that not one will be lost. There’s a big difference. Humans will always tear each other apart, it’s the nature of the fallen soul. Jesus will always restore, it's the nature of our risen king. Until we all take on a kingdom perspective, the eternal conflicts that keep us at war with other nations and each other will never cease. I want to see us all choose a better path, but the enemy is crouching at the door and jumps in our laps when we sit down to drive to work in the morning. He whispers in our ears that the driver next to us is too stupid, too distracted, too male, or too female to be at good as driving as we are. We are filled with the righteous indignation that can only be satisfied by flipping the bird and yelling at the idiot in the next vehicle. The enemy squeals with delight and takes a drag from his cigarette in the seat next to us when this happens. He doesn’t worry about crouching, we have invited him in. We get to work and wonder why our second cup of coffee hasn’t brought us to life yet, all the while harboring the life sucking thoughts of revenge and anger. All this before 8:00am. Our perspective blinds us to what might have been the other person’s cause. It always will. The only answer is Jesus. The enemy can’t take up residence in our hearts if Jesus is already occupying that spot. However, the shoulder of any believer is the perfect perch for an imp to sit and whisper half truths and slanderous misstatements about the injustice that someone else has caused us and the hurt we feel. I, personally, am done with it. I am tired of being offended and angry. It’s so exhausting being right all the time and having to explain to everyone else how right I am. Yes, that is sarcasm. I can’t keep fighting for a political ideation, but I can keep fighting the good fight; and that’s what I intend to do. I tired of a sleepy woke-ness that labels people, the intolerant tolerance of the media, and the ignorant righteousness of the status quo. Read whatever inferences into that you choose. At some level, the believers can see the truth of what’s happening. This nation and this world need our saviour, and he is coming back soon. The right, the left, and the middle better be ready.
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AuthorI am a Christian, a wife, a mom, and a part-time basket case who wants to be a full time writer.
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