The world has gone all the way over the hill in its idiocy, cruelty, and incivility!
I refuse to watch the hearings regarding Judge Kavanaugh or Dr. Ford. Not because they aren’t important, but rather because of the sheer foolishness in the conversations. PLEASE don’t get me wrong. I do not want to become another voice in a crowded space of terminally certain people screaming at this process or these people.
I do, however, wish to point out that somehow, someway we have become bullhorns full of often foolish assumptions, attitudes, and narratives that leave no room for civility, decency or gracious leadership.
I’ve never met Dr. Ford and I’ve never met Judge Kavanaugh. I do not know whether he or she over-served themselves in high school, college, or in their present lives.
I do know that both of these people seem to have become pawns in a whirlwind of binary thought focused on party lines. And friend, that’s a shame.
Dr. Ford is probably a credible person that has had a challenging and gut-wrenching experience. Judge Kavanaugh is probably a credible person that has now had a gut-wrenching experience himself. Neither of these folks is ideal or perfect, I’m sure. My soul hurts for them both. They both have been sucked up into a funnel cloud of anger, resentment, incivility, and hate. I’ll bet that both of them would love to go back a couple of months and have a mulligan. But that isn’t going to happen.
This divided loyalist party line foolishness must stop! We cannot continue down this nasty slope of finger-wagging, name calling, and party line dogma that is currently the norm. Not just in DC, but in every area of our life!
The only thing I know to do personally is to want to want to be a better man. A better follower of Jesus, and seek to not let my heart and my soul follow the easy road to sarcasm, incivility, cruel intentions and angry actions. I need to work on me.
God help us if we ever give in to walking the path of critical, mean-spirited conversation regarding everything. I see it in politics, business, families, leadership and yes, in the church.
Surely we are better than all that, aren’t we?
Maybe you are wondering how to start correcting your own voice, attitude or assumptions. Here are three suggestions that I promise to work on with you:
- TAKE A LONG LOOK IN THE MIRROR and compile a short list of not more than 3 things that you would like to correct. Maybe it’s a temper or an attitude. Maybe it’s a critical spirit or an envious heart. Ask the Divine to point out the truth in any of these areas. WRITE THEM DOWN! Then assess yourself each day for the next week on a scale of 1-10. “1” is you totally blew it. “10” is you fought that dragon and you are killing it. Here’s a suggestion – You are rarely on either fringe, but you should always be moving forward.
- STOP NEGATIVE LANGUAGE! No matter how you may think or feel about something, recognize that just because we think it, doesn’t always make it so. Negative talk to others leaves no room for mercy, grace, wisdom or genuine blessing to become a part of the cure. STOP IT! Stop the negative talk, both to yourself and to others as well.
- READ THROUGH THE GOSPELS with a slow, note-taking, methodical read. I promise you that the hate speech that is now our norm can be whisked aside to make room for learning more intently the truths and teachings of Jesus. He is where we will feel a serious respite from the barrage of the shouting masses, regardless of which side they come from.
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If we are to find our way out of this pit of foolishness, it will be a result of the people of faith ceasing to engage the foolery.
Take a look at the words used in Proverbs 26:4; “Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.“
If you would like another word on civility, just click HERE on this BLOG:
–AChuck
