I think about the people Jesus called “friend” and how they oppressed his ethnic family, would kill his intellectual and spiritual family, and would deny the truth he was speaking and hang him from a cross.
And he knew the hearts of men, we do not. He knew the Hell on Earth he was inviting and walking into willingly. None of us knows the Hell that someone else is living or has lived through.
Politics is a set of categories designed to divide us into armies instead of individuals. Jesus would not have spoken to the woman at the well if he assumed she would not listen. Why would a Samaritan ever listen to a Jew? Ridiculous at the time. If he had maintained the tribe (politics is voluntary tribalism) mentality, he never would have uttered a word, for Jews did not think the way he did, no one did.
Jesus acted and spoke out of love. That’s why he could break all the rules of his tribe and the world at large. That’s how he changed the world with the ultimate #LoveWins moment.
In an age when we have the ability to express our individuality like no other human has, it pains me to see people choose groups over individuals.
You voted for Trump? Tell me about it and I’ll tell you why I can’t support sexual predators having a say in my life. You voted for Clinton? Tell me about it and I’ll tell you why I can’t support sexual predators having a say in my life.
“Agree to disagree” is a polite “shut up now.” A bumper sticker that has no use. We have to ask each other questions and look deeper at our own brokenness than the brokenness in others. Only when you listen and take lessons from the answers can you hunt down your own demons and heal your own soul. Once you start healing, you will find others on similar paths who are ready to learn from you and teach you.
I’ve seen this in my life, I don’t have to avoid political conversations because those people have disappeared from my life. My path is a lot scarier and a lot more work than turning on the TV or reading the newspaper. Not too many people want a piece of it. It turns out that the right people do want to be a part of it and I am blessed by the people I have attracted into my life.
God bless and thank you for reading,
Jason