Getting Curious

I could feel the fire deep in my chest after reading the many posts after the Orlando shootings. I always get overwhelmed by conflicts of opinions, finger pointing, scolding, shaming, and statements of “this could have been avoided by…” It didn’t get avoided. It happened.  It hurts. People are grieving.  And when something terrible has happened, of course we all have parts of us that want to get to the root of where and how it all went wrong and STOP the madness.  But the madness rages on as we point fingers at each other and shame the other “side” for their “choices, behaviors, etc.” What if we all got curious about one another? What if we had compassion for another person’s story and became intent on loving in spite of differences?

I’m not trying to bring back the WWJD bracelets, but Jesus seems like a good example to me of loving well…of being curious about someone, showing compassion, listening, and then offering solutions without shame and judgment.  He invited tax collecting Zacchaeus down out of the tree and had dinner with him.  He saved the adulterous woman from being stoned and called out her attackers.  In every story I’ve ever read of Jesus, He loved first.  He got curious.   He had compassion for even the most “unlovable” people. 

No matter what side any of us are on, what if we got curious about the other side? What if we get to know them and ask them questions about their beliefs? What if we kept on loving them no matter their answers and how different they are from ours? I had to take a step back after reading some posts that I strongly disagreed with. I felt the rage. I reached out to my safe people to say I was mad.  I could have blasted them publicly.  But I knew it wouldn’t help.  Hate upon hate, as far as I can tell, has never solved the problem. But more love, again as far as I can tell, goes a long way.  And I feel more settled today being really curious about people who feel differently than I do. I know it is always important to fight for what you believe in – because if you are for gun control, then speak up.  If you are against abortion, then speak up.  If you love people, advocate for them.  If you are for something, say so. If you are against something, fight to stop it. And then set your weapons down just for a second and look at the solider on the other side of the lines and try your hardest to love them anyway.  Love wins the battle.