Lessons in the Rabbit Hole
When you are challenged, search your own tunnels to find the light
No doubt, it’s been a challenging couple of weeks. Bewildering and shocking at times for me as a Christian and an American, where I was (perhaps naively) surprised that people who stand by their faith as they understand it could still be so…persecuted. It’s left me exhausted, and sad.
But I guess that makes such people, including me, a target for scrutiny, derision, mockery and all the things we were warned about when Christ delivered the Sermon on the Mount. I also came to realize in the past couple of weeks, my only role was to examine my own actions, intentions, even unspoken thoughts and judgments. After all, they are the only things I can control. To remove the log from my own eye rather than call out the speck in your own, as it were. To research for myself, and discern.
Many people used the term “going down a rabbit hole” when they too wanted to explore for themselves what they could glean from hours and hours of interviews and conversations on video of people who have been labeled with incendiary terms.
Most expressed surprise, and frankly, they disagreed with the labels. That’s not to say they agreed with everything being said, but it made them THINK, and the context gave them a more accurate picture of the issues of lifestyles, culture, and faith we are all struggling with.
So, in a relatively short period of time, these lessons bubbled to the surface for me:
No serious conversation that people enter into with others who disagree should feature the words, “Yes, but…” Doing this only expresses your ability to allow someone else to speak, but completely misses the opportunity to listen to the other person, learn something, and in the midst of differences, love them.
Fear of being the target of disagreement over principles you hold dear, particularly those rooted in faith, is no reason to shrink or be silent. I nearly decided to talk about something else. Then I realized that would be succumbing to what I feel is a rising secularism where God is needed most.
Hate is not disagreement, nor is it dissenting opinions
Everyone has a name, a personal history, people they love, and who love them. No one deserves being called by a label. No one.
Know who you serve, and if they are only known by their affiliation with a political party, keep looking.
When faced with insults, hatred, and anger, realize it’s rooted in fear. Respond with love and kindness.
Forgiveness is the way to true union with each other, and most importantly with the God you serve. This lesson was so gracefully expressed a few days ago by a young widow, and I will never forget it.
I am a work in progress, and anger can be so alluring for me, yet it steals my peace, my joy, and everything I was created to be. I need to call it out in myself, first, and alone.
I pray that everyone takes a lesson from these weeks of violence and hurt. Smile at a stranger. Decide not to respond in anger for an angry comment. Refrain from the need to always make your opinion known. Put the grocery cart back, hold a door open, volunteer, and simply be someone others want to talk to because they know you SEE them, care, and dare I say love them as a fellow pilgrim on the journey.