Shouting at specks
Life is loud. I'm a work-at-home mother of two young children with at least one or two extras in the house at any given time throughout the day. I love them, but sometimes I think my head is going to explode. They run. They shout. They demand. And when they're upset…look out. Tempers fly, and I'll be the first to admit that sometimes includes my own.
It's a wonder I can form a coherent sentence.
I'll often find myself playing referee, extolling the merits of using quiet words, of calmly addressing a situation and finding a way to solve problems that doesn't include throwing toys or hitting your sibling.
Conflict doesn't get any easier with age. Maybe we don't throw Hot Wheels anymore, but we certainly wield words and ideologies with similar power. The culture wars continue to rage. What can one say before it's labeled hate speech? Does anyone have the right to decide when they die or who, if anyone, helps them do it? How do we protect religious freedom? What about same-sex relationships? And just what do evangelicals stand for, anyhow?
Many times shouting overpowers. Just visit the comment section in any mainstream newspaper; anonymity lends itself well to scathing vitriol and furious rhetoric. It's shocking, really.
As followers of Christ, we're called to a different way. The questions are relevant, and the discussion vital. We're not called to be wishy-washy. We're called to stand firm for what we believe.
But the people—those living the realities for which others wage war—are heart and soul, spirit and flesh. Jesus listened. He heard their stories, their struggles, their fears. He forgave. He healed. He loved. He modeled a better way. How can we do any less?
He saved His judgment for those who would cast the first stone, those who paid more attention to the speck in another's eye than the plank in their own. And many did. Eventually, they turned on Him. He forgave them then, too.
Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for them. Engage the issues, love the people.
I hope my children learn these lessons well in childhood. Because they're hard ones to learn as an adult, when we're often more predisposed to pick at specks and hurl boulders.
As you read the stories in this month's print edition of ChristianWeek, and as you visit us online, we hope you will be inspired to think beyond the pages to the lives behind the headlines. Because every voice matters.
And you can't really hear what they're saying, until the shouting stops.
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