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.
