UNFINISHED
I have six unfinished drafts sitting in my blog post file. These are things I felt were important enough to say something about, yet I was unable to find the words to make them worth sharing.
Lately, I have been at a loss for words. I have not wanted to comment on the political or social topics of the day. I see so much anger, and I don’t want to be another voice attacking or defending a viewpoint.
At first, I had considered writing a post titled, “Put Down Your Stones,”in a reference to the manner in which attacks are being slung from one side to the other. Then, I decided a better post would be, “Planks and Specks,” since we are so quick to judge one another right now.
In a recent conversation about all the hate being published about one another- people commenting on how deeply terrible the other side is, my husband said it is craziness because, really, “We all suck.” I briefly considered that for my next title.
All three titles come from the same concept.
When the adulterous woman was brought before Jesus, he said, “If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first stone at her!” (from John 8:7 CEV).
In Matthew 7:3-5 (NLT), Jesus says, “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”
I don’t have a scripture reference for the title “We All Suck.” The point is the same as the other two though. We are all so quick to point out the flaws and throw stones, but we each have our own issues. I know I do. I know I am wrong about things. I know I hold opinions and views that I might not have worked out to the last implication.
I am unfinished. I am a work in progress. I need room to grow and change, and my first reaction to stones being thrown at me is to put up my defenses. Stones won’t win me to another viewpoint. Instead, stones make me want to point out the eight pieces of flawed logic in the attack of my beliefs and views. I also hate being associated with the side throwing the stones….just as much as I hate being the target of the stones.
Can we maybe, just for a minute, leave some of our opinion pieces unfinished and see each other as we are? Can we see each other as something more than opposing sides of an argument?
We are neighbors before we are political parties. We are coworkers before we are social activists. We are humans- flawed, broken, messy, humans- before we are ideologies.
Somewhere along the way we started to see each other as targets or opponents.
I don’t want to join the front lines of attack, and I don’t want to hide in bunkers. I want to talk about your kids’ birthday parties, laugh at your stories about falling down the stairs in front of everyone, or roll my eyes at cat memes.
I want you to give me room and grace to be wrong, and I want to do the same for you. I want to hold a different opinion without being seen as uneducated or hateful.
Yes, there are important issues at hand. There are issues of love and acceptance for all people. I am with you. We do need to stand up for one another. Let’s start by seeing the unfinished pieces in ourselves and understanding them in others.
Start a revolution. Love your neighbor… even if you don’t agree with him.
Agreed, we need to operate from the knowledge we are fighting the evil one and his schemes not each other. Love is the only logical thing to pick up stones are worthless.
Perfect writing for the fragile times we are in! Let us communally pray for God’s guidance and for acceptance. When we drop the stone, we become vulnerable. And that can be scary but in my experience, there is strength in surrender when we accept God’s Holy Spirit! We are all in different places on our walk of faith. Let us pray we can walk together with love, understanding and acceptance. Thank you so much for sharing your gifts!
I’m trying Rebecca but, I am having such a hard time. I’ve never felt such despair for our country and I am struggling with not judging those who voted for this “administration”. Please keep me in your prayers along with our country.
I appreciate your honesty and your heart. I want to encourage you about our state as a people.
We are God’s children, and he has not lost control. Before the election, I heard Larry Osborne speak. He talked about two things that really gave me peace (especially as someone who did not particularly want to vote for either of the major candidates).
1. God has bigger plans than what we can see in the moment. He is in control. Even when the Israelites were taken captive by the Babylonians, scripture says God’s hand was in it.
Daniel 1 states, “During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah,[a] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia[b] and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.”
2. We don’t need to get upset about half time or even the fourth quarter when we know how the game ends. We know that God triumphs over all. Even if we think things look bleak, God will reign victorious in the end.
My peace is not determined by our political leaders or people’s responses to those leaders. My peace comes from trusting an awesome God who has everything under control, even in seasons that I don’t understand.
I pray for our country. I pray our administration will make wise decisions, and I pray that God will help me to be a reflection of his love and justice to those with whom I come in contact.
Well said. Thank you.