As I walk through the wounds of our current life - with a pandemic and racial and social justice at a high point in our public conversations being the unifying agent for all of us - no matter where we lie on the spectrum of these forces in our lives.
It is so much easier to understand our own self righteousness, than to be graceful to those whose ideas lie on the other end of the spectrum. It is so hard to show grace to those who claim all lives matter in the conversation of Black lives matter, it is so hard to show grace to those who say the pandemic is a hoax (or that the deaths are minimal) in the conversation of what we are seeing happening with the novel corona virus.
The thing that rings to me, is how much of both our reactions are probably born out of fear. Fear for the lives of BIPOC and for my ability to live on my end, which translates to my view of their fear being that of diminished influence and safeguards and fear of mass hysteria about a disease that is difficult to understand, but I don't know what they are really afraid of... because those fears seem so strange to me - but fear is fear just as love is love. And I am fighting to have the grace to love those whose fear I don't understand.
Thank you for keeping us (and yourself, of course) in check by never letting us forget about our own culpability, pastor. We self-righteous liberals need it so badly - especially right now:)
Gazinga! Right to my capacious-yet-so-often-crusty heart. Yup. F**k those idiots who don't think like I do or act and speak the way I think they should. And all the while the one I'm hurting is myself. So powerful when I can release (really, get freed from) my own self-righteousness. Then I grab it again, then I lessen my grip on it, then ... bit by bit, my heart is opened further, mostly by outrageous Mercy showing up in my own cracks and chipped edges.
This is so on point. I recently had a conversation with someone who is holding onto old hurts because she wants to revisit them, to justify that she is right about that person. I realized that I do that, too. I know to pray for those who have hurt me, but I DONT. WANT. TO!!!! This puts words around why......so thanks for shining a light on a dark place, so that I can do some work in this area.....
As I walk through the wounds of our current life - with a pandemic and racial and social justice at a high point in our public conversations being the unifying agent for all of us - no matter where we lie on the spectrum of these forces in our lives.
It is so much easier to understand our own self righteousness, than to be graceful to those whose ideas lie on the other end of the spectrum. It is so hard to show grace to those who claim all lives matter in the conversation of Black lives matter, it is so hard to show grace to those who say the pandemic is a hoax (or that the deaths are minimal) in the conversation of what we are seeing happening with the novel corona virus.
The thing that rings to me, is how much of both our reactions are probably born out of fear. Fear for the lives of BIPOC and for my ability to live on my end, which translates to my view of their fear being that of diminished influence and safeguards and fear of mass hysteria about a disease that is difficult to understand, but I don't know what they are really afraid of... because those fears seem so strange to me - but fear is fear just as love is love. And I am fighting to have the grace to love those whose fear I don't understand.
Thank you for keeping us (and yourself, of course) in check by never letting us forget about our own culpability, pastor. We self-righteous liberals need it so badly - especially right now:)
Gazinga! Right to my capacious-yet-so-often-crusty heart. Yup. F**k those idiots who don't think like I do or act and speak the way I think they should. And all the while the one I'm hurting is myself. So powerful when I can release (really, get freed from) my own self-righteousness. Then I grab it again, then I lessen my grip on it, then ... bit by bit, my heart is opened further, mostly by outrageous Mercy showing up in my own cracks and chipped edges.
This is so on point. I recently had a conversation with someone who is holding onto old hurts because she wants to revisit them, to justify that she is right about that person. I realized that I do that, too. I know to pray for those who have hurt me, but I DONT. WANT. TO!!!! This puts words around why......so thanks for shining a light on a dark place, so that I can do some work in this area.....
I cannot find a place on your website to INCREASE my donation! Can someone help me, please?