What’s The Problem?

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but we’re divided. We don’t agree on anything anymore. It’s gotten so bad, that we can’t agree on events unfolding as we see them on the news, so we need multiple channels to tell us what’s going on around us so the story being told supports our ideology. It’s the reason there’s 35,000 denominations in the United States. It’s reason social media created an algorithm to only show you the information that agrees with you and is information they think you want. In recent years, we’ve furthered the divide in segregating stores, restaurants, and other businesses as places that are either tolerant or intolerant of our beliefs and therefore should be praised or boycotted.

Racism is still real. I believe most would agree with me on that. But what is considered racist seems to be a cloudy area. Black Lives Matter is a great example. Depending on who you talk to, BLM is either a group that stands against social injustice with a focus now on ongoing white law enforcement officers abusing their power against the African American community; or they’re just an angry mob of thugs that inspire further hate using fear tactics against police.

Typically in these circumstances, I search for that middle road option and more often than not, I discover truth. Then #AllLivesMatter began trending and I thought, there it is! Yet, these seemed to fuel the frustration of BLM supporters. So what was missing? One simple point of action: a conversation. This may seem elementary to you, and many of you with passionate opinions on politics/religion/social issues might argue, “I’ve tried to talk, but ‘the other side’ doesn’t listen.” So that’s why we need to look at what a conversation is. Merriam-Webster defines conversation as an oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas between two people or small group.

“We had talk enough but no conversation; there was nothing discussed.” – Samuel Johnson, British Poet

Now the exchange isn’t referring to a concept that you say your opinion another side says their’s, and that’s a conversation. In order to have a constructive conservation BOTH sides have to listen. Are you hearing what someone else’s side of the argument is? Or are you listening? Listening requires you to obtain what’s been said. I can hear someone’s voice from a great distance, but if I can’t comprehend what they’re saying, are we having a conversation? For many of us, that great distance is created when we think our voice must be the loudest. This extreme insecurity that our point isn’t being made and this incredible ignorance that we think we can’t be wrong in anything. You don’t think there’s a problem with listening in our country? Here’s a polarizing question: What is the biggest problem America is facing today? The question is polarizing because I can promise you, you won’t get the same answer. If you were to ask a hundred people this, you’re going to get twenty different answers. This ought to tell you that a big problem facing America today is no one is listening.

Jesus was known as one of the greatest public speakers of all time. In reading historical documentation like the four Gospels of the New Testament Bible, you’ll also discover, like many of the world’s greatest public speakers, He was a great listener. Great preachers/leaders must be great listeners. Without listening, how can you ever know of the need? Words aren’t always required for listening. You can listen to one’s actions, but Jesus, always knowing what anyone needed, commonly asked His followers what they needed. Sometimes it was healing, other times, food, maybe a little wine to keep the party going, but ultimately He knew people needed His love.

Up to this point, I’ve written everything you read thus far prior to the hearing on September 27th for Judge Kavanaugh for the available seat in the Supreme Court. I say that because the issues that surround his hearing and ongoing conversation/investigations are not new issues and I don’t want this blog to be confuse the narrative that I’m only bringing up this issue because I think it’s some new problem. Sexual assault isn’t a new crime. False accusations are not new either.

I am not going to tell you what I think behind this entire circus, but I will tell you this: the Judge Kavanaugh Nomination process is clear evidence that no one is listening. Yes, I know; your side of the argument wants justice. Yes, I know; your side wants an innocent man freed of all this planted baggage. News stations care about one thing: viewers. Politicians need one thing: votes. So naturally, your respected news station and political party are feeding you what you want in hopes of getting your loyalty.

But is anyone listening? Some sexual predators become people of power. With great bravery, their victims speak up, but is anyone listening? We live in a nation now where women have a voice louder now than ever before and they’re using that right to tell their stories. Sometimes, their stories are dark, gloomy and even scarring with stories of abuse, rape, and/or neglect, but is anyone listening? We’ve heard so many stories of murder, sexual assault, and abuse that we’ve become numb and the element of surprise has thus been eliminated, but is that an excuse to not listen?

Immediately, many on both sides of any divided argument will say, “yes, we’re listening.” This is all the more terrifying. To the African American who sees the obvious mistreatment of minorities at the hands of a small minority of law enforcement, don’t worry, they are listening. To the LGBTQ Community that feels mistreated and unrecognized, they are listening. To the women of America wanting equal pay, be represented fairly and be treated with respect, they are listening. To the religious who feel persecuted for their beliefs, they are listening. To the lower class, to the immigrant seeking refuge, to the small business owner, to the college student with high student loans, to the patient with outrageous medical bills and prescription costs, they are listening. They are listening, but they just don’t care.

America’s greatest problem is a serious lack of empathy. I don’t preach this because I have it figured it out. I present this to you because on so many issues, I have to ask God to give me empathy for the other side of the argument. Many times, “the other side of the argument,” isn’t an argument, but rather, someone or group of people that have an issue that is not my own and/or I have not/will not face it. In others words, my neighbor’s problem is not my problem. Now obviously Jesus told us in Matthew 22 to love our neighbor. So, “my neighbor’s problem is not my problem,” seems to contradict that commandment. Your neighbor’s problem should be your problem. It’s not your problem because one day you’ll have a problem and need them. It’s your problem because you have a moral obligation to make it your problem.

I am a white, straight, Christian, American male. I have a responsibility to speak up for minorities that are mistreated at the hands of society. I have a responsibility to love others and not feel the best way to convert people to Christianity is by burying other people’s beliefs. I have an obligation to speak up for women when they’re dismissed by misogynistic and closed minded men. I have to take the privilege I’ve been given as a platform and voice for those without said privilege. Jesus has the privilege of being without sin. I thank God that He became sin who knew no sin so that He could speak up for me. But do I do this? Am I a voice for the voiceless? No I’m not. More often than not, I follow the mold because I don’t want to come across as going against my side of the argument or worse, at the end of the day, I just don’t care.

This kind of thinking and problem solving has got to stop. The next generation deserves better. We have to love each other better. We have to not only hear, but listen. Just shut up, and listen. If you thought Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation was a win, you weren’t listening. By you winning, someone else has to lose and who lost? Another fellow American. Many women who feel silenced. Minorities who feel abandoned. If you think these claims are extreme, what are you doing to change that narrative? Or are you just too busy winning?

To clarify before I get your comments and messages, I have conservative values. Just because someone identifies as something, does not mean however, that they cannot have a conversation and learn from people with different perspectives. We’re not always going to agree, but does it have to be this polarizing on both sides?

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

‭‭John‬ ‭13:34‬

Yeah, it’s easy to preach, but do we live it? The question of how we can love each other is simple: Start with caring for each other. They may think abortion is about a woman’s ability to choose and you may think it’s murder, but Jesus told you to love them anyway. They may think being gay is ok, and you think it’s an abomination; love them, listen to them, care for them. We as Christians are allowed to take a stand so please don’t misunderstand. We have principals we should defend. Defending principals was not the first commandment Jesus gave us though. Two others went above laws and principals we fight so vigorously to defend.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22:36-40‬ ‭

I know I’m going to fail, but I have to try. I pray you attempt to do the same. Keep loving Jesus with everything in you, and remember to love your neighbor the same way Jesus loves them. Remember that He died for them too. Listen, care, love. Signing out for now. Talk to you again soon. Thanks for reading.