I've been noticing a disturbing trend on social media. It's not a recent trend, but it's been breaking my heart recently.
People have been roasting & shaming those who hold opposing beliefs on whatever hot button issue is close to their heart. Then the poster's friends join in with self-righteous judgment, shaking their heads at the evil of their opponent's ways.
But these conversations have escalated recently. Instead of questioning the judgment of an opponent, or even their salvation, people have jumped to doubting the humanity of those who disagree with them.
I see adjectives like "evil" and "inhumane" describing their opponents and I tremble. These are adjectives that start the slippery slope to genocide. When we stop seeing our opponents as people, as emotional, thoughtful, intelligent people, as flawed, broken, hurting people, we kill off some of our humanness even as we decry their lack of humanness. When we view them as less than human because of their views, we start to rationalize treating them as less than human. When we get to that point, it's only a small step from thought to action, from judgment turning into action.
We don't understand the other side because we aren't taking the effort to find and seek them out and to LISTEN and ASK QUESTIONS! Instead we retreat within our herd of like-minded friends and relatives, asking ourselves, "how could a human support this opposing view?" to which the mob cries back, "I don't know. It's evil." This, my dear brothers & sisters is social media at its worst. This is the Church at its worst.
How can anyone support...?
In order to actually answer this question, you'll need to get off your chair, leave your computer/phone, and find someone who supports the thing that you oppose. Form a friendship with them. See how they treat their spouse, co-workers, and pets. When you have a relationship with them, ask them about their views in a loving and gentle way.
"Hey, can I talk to you about <______>? A while back, you told me that you support it and I was hoping that you could share your reasoning with me. I'm willing to listen."
And, hopefully, they will share their heart on this subject. And I pray that you will listen, without interrupting or defending or attacking. You are seeking to understand their view, not start a debate. You should not mentally be forming a rebuttal or counter-argument while they are speaking, but simply listening.
When they are done sharing, thank them. It takes courage to open up and share something near to your heart.
Take time to reflect on their answer. I don't expect you to change your views or opinions, but I do hope you will begin to see the humanity of your opponent.
In Acts 17, we see a biblical example of Paul doing this. When he arrived in Athens, he walked around and saw idolatry everywhere. Some Bible commentaries say that idols almost outnumbered people in Athens!! It did distress him to see a city full of idols, but he interacted with Jews, God-fearing Greeks, Epicureans philosophers, Stoic philosophers, and people he encountered in the marketplace. He was invited to address the people at the Areopagus. Paul got up and began to talk to the people of Athens. He told them that he sees how religious they are. He references an altar that he saw on a walk around Athens, an altar that was dedicated to an unknown God. He used that to segue into the Good News of Jesus. He reminded the people that God created everything and isn't confined to our temples. God doesn't need us, but we desperately need Him to survive. God wants people to seek Him. Paul went on to quote from several philosophers (Epimenides and Aratus in case you were curious) to make a further connection. He gets to the heart of the Gospel: our need to repent. Not everyone who heard Paul's speech believed, but several did.
What is my point with all of this?
Instead of piously staying within our Christian circles, asking each other, "How can anyone support...?", we need to be out engaging our country's culture. (Pious in this case meaning "characterized by a hypocritical concern with virtue or religious devotion")
We need to be spreading the Good News to all we encounter.
We need to make connections from our culture that can serve as an opening to spread the Gospel.
We need to see the humanity of those who disagree with us, as we pray earnestly for their salvation.
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