Talking to One Another

     It seems hard to talk to each other lately.  There’s a lot of yelling, name-calling, and accusations and precious little listening to one another.  There are certainly a lot of bad things happening in our country and our world and plenty to be justifiably outraged about.  In our rancorous public political discourse, love seems to be at a premium, but it’s just possible that love and humility might help turn things around.

In our anger and our tribalism, it’s easy to focus on the faults of others.  “Those hypocrites!  How can they claim to believe this but do that?  How can they be so cruel/stupid/selfish/greedy/etc.?!” Sometimes these criticisms are well founded, but if we look hard in the mirror, we may well see some of the same ugliness staring right back at us.

In Matthew 7:3-5, Jesus tells his disciples,

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Personally, I have found my eyes full of logs sometimes.

If we want to make the world a better place, we have to discern between right and wrong and fight hard for what is right, but to do so well requires self-examination and humility.  Not only can humble self-examination help us to see things more clearly, but how can we expect anyone listen to what we have to say if we don’t at least try to practice what we preach?

We also have to remember that we don’t have all the answers, and that in the end, they may even be beyond our grasp.

The prophet Isaiah (55: 8-9) writes,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

None of us has all the answers.

For example, when does human life really begin?  For some the answer is obvious: conception results in a new growing human organism with its own unique DNA.  Others wonder if there is such a thing as brain death, is there such a thing as brain birth?  Does a partially functioning body constitute human life in a full and moral sense?  And how do such questions relate to the idea of the soul?

Science can tell us how the organism homo sapiens develops, but questions of what is true humanity and when does truly human life begin are philosophical and theological ones, and the Bible really doesn’t tell us one way or another.  We might well ask ourselves, “Where are we getting our answers from, anyway?”

I don’t mean to dismiss the moral ramifications of these questions, but we should recognize that one side does not derive joy from killing children and the other doesn’t just want to control women and their bodies.  People of good will are disagreeing about some potentially thorny metaphysical problems with significant bearing how we act on our shared value of protecting human life.

Perhaps the greatest thing we can do to change our bitter and deadlocked situation is to treat each other with love.  After all, transformative love is at the very heart of the Christian message. The love we need in this and every time is more than a warm fuzzy feeling, it’s a conscious decision to seek the good of others.  Thus in Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus says to his disciples,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighborand hate your enemy.’But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? …And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? …Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

The early Christian leader Paul echoes Jesus’s calls for sacrificial love (as well as humility) in his letter to the church in Rome (Romans 12:14-21):

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. … “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

There will undoubtedly be more arguing on the internet, protesting in the streets, and dueling editorials in the papers and on television.  They are unavoidable and often necessary, but if we hope to do more than just add to the noise, we need to examine and change ourselves first of all.  We need to remember and celebrate the common humanity of those with whom we disagree and face them with the love and humility that can truly change hearts, soothe anger, and break down the ever-present bitterness of our current age.  In short, we must overcome evil with good.