I confess I have not always been as faithful as I would like during this time. I think I’ve been faithful to God and my call, but I have fallen prey more often than I would like to the negativity and division I see in the world.
Like the apostle Paul, I find myself doing the things I ought not do. Like reading comment threads on political posts and news stories, or talking back to the television. (I suppose Paul actually didn’t do that.) Too often I become jaded at human nature, to the detriment of my spirit.
My shock at how partisan we are is actually a naïve reaction, because it’s a biblical narrative as old as time. We all get to choose whom we serve, whether it is political party, lowercase gods, or ego. Opening ourselves in relationship to the holy humbles us, because it opens us to one another.
The platform we are privileged to share on social media gives us an inordinate entitlement to being “right,” which is far from a humble impulse. My confession is that too often, I succumb to that temptation: to be persuaded of my own “rightness” and seeking to align myself with those who perpetuate that elevated bit of self-absorption. Which is much different than opening myself humbly to my fellow sojourners in life.
Sitting here this evening, on my screened-in back porch with birds singing and dog at my side, knowing Ann is out with her horse on the trail, I am brought to a place of uncomplicated gratitude. Tonight, at least, it matters less whether you or I are on the right side of history than realizing our common good is inextricably linked to one another. Whether I am right or wrong will matter less than whether I live with empathy and compassion.
Postscript:
As friends have suggested in response, we are still called to stand up for the right and good. My faith tradition has always made that clear. To paraphrase a former professor, caring for one another is an art.
There is a place for righteous anger, and a time to act on it. For me, it's become imperative to tend to my heart and evaluate its motives. Anger and hate can too easily become roommates, and when that happens my heart's home becomes a cluttered mess.
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