Month: March 2019

Over the last few years our nation has been divided by a wall. This wall has sparked anger, division, and even hatred.

You might think I’m talking about the wall on our nation’s southern border, but I’m not. There is a wall which is far more important than any barrier on the border between the United States and Mexico.

While it’s become more accentuated in recent years, this wall has existed as long as humans have walked the earth.

Jew/Gentile

Black/White

Rich/Poor

Gay/Straight

Republican/Democrat

Pro-life/Pro-choice

Christian/Muslim

Black Lives Matter/Blue Lives Matter

I could fill pages, but you get the point. There is a lot of division in our world.

My experience has been that we usually expect the other person to move in order to reduce or eliminate the division. For example (and I know I’m over-generalizing), some rich people expect the poor to get a job. Some poor expect the rich to give them money.

Social media seems to exacerbate this problem even more. Trump supporters deride opponents by calling them stupid, unpatriotic, or libtards. Trump opponents attack Trump supporters by calling them racists, jerks, and closed-minded. I’ve even seen friends unload on one another through venomous comment threads that never seem to end.

What has happened to our country?

What we are doing doesn’t seem to be working. And I don’t think our leaders have the power to change it.

I don’t mean they don’t have the ability to influence. They absolutely do. But their ability to bring change has a border (see what I did there?).

The real catalyst for change is our individual lives.

Do you want to see a change? Stop blaming your opponents. Stop calling them names. Stop hurling insults. Stop talking at people.

If you want to build a wall to keep out the illegal immigrants, find immigrants and share a meal with them. I’m not saying you will or should change your political views, but maybe you can see them more as human beings, and less as a problem.

If you think those who want to build the wall are uncaring, find the most adamant supporters of the President and share a meal with them. You don’t need to discuss the merits of building or not building a wall, but maybe you can see their humanity a little more clearly.

If you live in a wealthy community, spend time serving at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Sit down with someone who doesn’t dress, smell, or live like you and look them in the eye.

If you think Christians are judgmental, narrow-minded people, visit a church and stay for a few minutes after and talk with someone.

If you think Muslims are terrorists, visit a mosque or some other place where Muslims gather.

If you feel uncomfortable with homosexuals, invite a homosexual couple over for dinner.

If you feel oppressed by white privilege, grab a coffee with someone who you feel lives in that privileged world.

Whatever makes you uncomfortable, find someone who represents that and spend time sitting face-to-face with them.

We have built way too many walls already in this world. Whether you think a barrier on the border is a good idea or not, I hope we can all agree that barriers between us and our fellow human beings is a bad idea.

If you want to change the tone of our world, do it one brick – or one life – at a time. Instead of looking across the street, across town, or across the globe for someone to blame or attack, look in the mirror and ask yourself what you need to change.

We all have blind spots and weaknesses. We all have prejudices and preferences. None of us are without fault.

Maybe if we could start by examining ourselves before excluding and attacking others, we could tear down many of the walls that divide us and move closer towards a world ruled by kindness, peace, and love for all of our neighbors.

Gluten.

Okay, that’s the easy answer. Gluten has been my nemesis and causes my psoriasis to flare up, so it was an obvious choice. I need to get back to eating gluten-free, and Lent is a perfect time to focus on that.

But that’s not the hard work that lies ahead for me during Lent. Avoiding bread and pasta is child’s play compared to the other challenge I am taking on.

Self-hatred.

This is the other thing I have vowed to give up for this season of Lent. Now that will be a real challenge.

I cannot speak for anyone else, but this is one of my greatest enemies. For most of my life I have been haunted by that voice telling me I’m not good enough, I’m not accepted, I’m not loved.

If I have learned anything over the last few years, it’s that this voice is relentless, hanging on like few things I know, fighting tooth and nail to be heard and refusing to go away quietly.

For years I thought if I read enough Scripture, prayed enough prayers, and did enough good, the voices would go away. The reality is all those things by themselves are an attempt to outshout the negative voices. When things quieted down, the self-hatred was still there.

So this Lent I will do the difficult thing. I will be still and listen. I will sit with the fear, the pain, and the discomfort.

Christ did not overcome evil by overpowering it; he succumbed to it. He suffered pain and death. It wasn’t until he experienced the crucifixion that Christ could experience resurrection.

So how am I giving up self-hatred for Lent? Not by hustling to outshout it, but by being still. By listening to the small, still voice that says I am good enough, I am accepted, I am loved.

This is not a feel-good philosophy bypassing my sin, but a journey through the darkness acknowledging my brokenness while also embracing the goodness. Only when I’m still enough to hear the breath that breathed life into dust will I hear my true worth.

Ash Wednesday reminds us from dust we came and to dust we will return. But the breath of God brought that dust to life. That same breath reminds me I no longer need to hate myself, for at my core, I am created in the image and likeness of the One who brought it all to life and holds it all together.