Sometimes life hands us lemons, and we can't seem to locate any sugar, at all, and the taste is sour. Some people like sour; they flourish in sour. This is the story of someone who does not like sour, I never liked Warheads or anything remotely sour like that; I like very sweet lemonade. If I am to be perfectly honest, I really don't like lemonade at all, I much prefer no sour taste whatsoever, but that's neither here nor there.
As a society, we have learned that there is a solution to every problem and if there isn't one, we sweep the problem under the rug. We have learned that "there's an app for that"; something that we desperately need to help us in our current situation. We have learned that there is something we can do, by ourselves, to solve any problem. We have learned to isolate.
The irony is that, through technology, we are seemingly more connected than every before, but we are not. In my Eduction for Ministry group, we always talk about the importance of community. That can mean different things for different people, nonetheless, people still need to be a part of something. We need to feel that belonging and have the knowledge that, no matter what, we are loved. And yet, here we are in 2012, pitting Christian against Christian against other religions against walks of life different than our own. We may not always agree, but we can always love. I believe that James 3:16-18 says it best: Wherever you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony, and wicked things of every kind being done; whereas the wisdom that comes down from above is essentially something pure; it also makes for peace, and is kindly and considerate; it is full of compassion and shows itself by doing good; nor is there any trace of partiality or hypocrisy in it. Peacemakers, when they work for peace, sow the seeds which will bear fruit in holiness.
Christians are not only forgetting what it is to be in community with one another, regardless of the denomination, but we are forgetting how to be Peacemakers. We are forgetting how to take something "essentially pure" and use it to promote kindness and love. We are always interested in a punitive system of judgement rather than a system of love and compassion, even for the worst offender. We are too often interested in the consequences of actions rather than making peace with a situation. This is understandable and, I'm guilty too. I want to see someone else suffer if I have suffered, particularly at their hand. I get angry at other Christians that I see bullying others or denying benefits to people who practice a different way of life, but that anger is just as bad.
We listen to politicians and celebrities that bash others; regardless of political persuasion. Our votes are given to people who spend entire voting cycles tearing each other down. When will we see how wrong this is? Where is the candidate who is truly not worried about what the opponents are saying, but are concerned with how can we, as a country, promote peace, love and support. Who is going to stand up and call for all citizens to unite in love and community? Who is going to ask other countries to journey to peace with us? And, most importantly, would we vote for this candidate?
What does all of this have to do with lemonade? A lot. We are all in different places in the same journey. That journey is life. Some have made their lemonade and are sipping it from a cup on a beautiful beach somewhere. Some, like me, don't really like lemonade, but if I have to drink it, I need a lot of sugar. Some have only found lemons. For us, those needing lots of sugar or those just needing sugar, period, we cannot find the sugar on our own. We need to ask where it is or we need a friend/community that will help us find sugar, even if we don't ask. Most of all, we need the leaders of our country and of other countries to help us on our journey to sweetness; help US all of US, not just certain people with whom they most closely identify, but all of us in our own unique journey, even if we tossed out the lemons for tea, help US.
No comments:
Post a Comment